Yes, some 400 or so years ago Pilgrims sat down with their Native American benefactors to break bread, drink beer, and give thanks for their first harvest (no they didn’t televise football games that year). This bucolic scene of people at odds finally celebrating together in Plymouth Colony was a far cry from the death and destruction meted out by the Native Americans just weeks before at Jamestown in Virginia.
What I find amazing about this picture is that any of the English colonies ever survived. These people must have been the most naïve humans on the face of the planet. They left England for a number of reasons, to practice their religion in peace, for commerce, and merely to settle in a new land. They took their clothes, some brought their families, a few tools, and other possessions; climbed aboard cramped, primitive ships; and sailed for months to reach a land they knew practically nothing about.
Most only brought enough provisions to sustain them for a short period, and apparently none of the Pilgrims had the slightest knowledge of farming. Did they expect supermarkets in this new land?
The inhabitants of Jamestown were massacred, but before that, most of them starved to death. In the celebrated Plymouth Colony, there was starvation as well. That would have been their end too if not for an alliance with local Native Americans that taught them how to grow food. That first Thanksgiving was about being truly thankful to God and their Native American benefactors.
Today in the United States, most of us still give thanks, but few thank those Native Americans that made our existence in this land possible. Yes, it‘s a fact that not all Native Americans were helpful. Many took umbrage at the alien invaders. And over time, even those that aided the new arrivals were pushed off their land. But in reality, this is nothing more than a repeat of the story of civilization. History is replete with stories of conquest and expansion. One group, tribe, or country, defeats another, takes the land and kills or displaces the vanquished.
One of the last efforts at conquest and expansion by another country, Germany, took place a mere 77 years ago and ended in disaster and defeat in 1945. Now, the boundaries on every plot of ground on the earth have been established and with luck settled. For this too we can be thankful.
So, what else do we have to be thankful for these days? That list might be a lot smaller than one with items we would not be thankful for: We have troops still fighting in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria. The Russians are threatening our NATO position in Eastern Europe. Iran signed a nuclear agreement that many said was a very bad one. Muslim terrorists including ISIS and Al Qaida are still at large and slaughtering innocent people. The global economy is still shaky and ours isn’t much better. We still have homeless and jobless people in this country. Our healthcare system is in shambles. The government is growing exponentially. You have less than 30 days to max out your credit cards for Christmas…. Okay, enough negativity! It was supposed to be a day of thanks.
Well, on a personal note, I have much I gave thanks for: I have the greatest wife in the world – must be the greatest, she has stuck with me for fifty years. My kids are all healthy, employed and living in relative comfort. Two of our four grandkids have given us two lovely great-grandsons, and all are healthy. My wife and I, while not rich, are in a relatively comfortable state, and we have our health. We have good friends and neighbors. They televise football on Thanksgiving. I have all I truly need and am indeed thankful.
And one more thing to be most thankful for; Obama will be gone in a little over a year. That nightmare might be over. Now, if we could replace a few more democrats here in California, we might have something to truly be thankful for.
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