Thoughts on the Legacy of Thanksgiving

To the editor:

I recently reread a commentary summarizing a speech given by Allie Beth Stuckey back in April 2023 at The Heritage Foundation’s 50th anniversary. Stuckey said, “It’s easy to feel nostalgic for the way things were, to kind of wish that we lived in a country where we had the same issues we were facing in the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s.” We don’t live in the past, but there are those who want to rewrite America’s past.

A more recent article titled, Thanksgiving Glorifies the Abhorrent Colonization of Indigenous Peoples, ( greenmatters. com, Nov. 21, 2023) claims the holiday observed for over 400 years and marketed as a wholesome family holiday “whitewashes an unjust past”.

The article goes on to claim the Thanksgiving holiday ‘glorifies colonialism, slavery and even epidemics.” I quote, “We have turned a story of unjust colonization into an excuse to kill 46 million turkeys every Thanksgiving.

What a bunch of rubbish! Gyasi Ross, a Blackfeet Tribe member in a guest essay for MSNBC, recognizes the Pilgrims arrived in a broken state. He states “they brought nothing of value.” Gyasi also states, “There is much for white Americans to be thankful for, but I’m still trying to figure out what indigenous people received of value.” He claims that instead of bringing stuffing and biscuits, the Pilgrims brought “genocide and violence.”

Gyasi and his cohorts are refusing to recognize the Pilgrims made the extremely difficult journey across the ocean and endured many hardships, not knowing what they would find in order to practice their faith in the God of the Bible. Can there be a more valuable asset than faith?

According to Brenda Hafera, the assistant director and senior policy analyst at the Simon Center for American Studies at The Heritage Foundation, it’s easy to see Thanksgiving as a target for such radicals because it focuses on the family and gratitude. “To taint a family occasion and promote ingratitude helps undermine the American character.” Gratitude is a choice and “A gracious people is a strong people.”

I am thankful for the Pilgrims strong faith and the founders of America who wrote, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal…etc.” I am thankful for the many men and women who continue to fight for American principles of freedom.