Happy Thanksgiving Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. It is a literally a time we take to give thanks for our many blessings, and enjoy family, food, and football. Now retail chains want to begin Black Friday sales on Thursday, with Wal-Mart announcing that they will open the scrum at 6:00 p.m. That rips Wal-Marts employees from their families and threatens to turn Thanksgiving into a brunch as consumers rush to get in line. Wal-Marts head of US merchandising says that we shouldnt worry. Wal-Mart employees can get a dinner at the store, and theyll be given a 25% discount on one purchase. Clueless. It is worth contrasting this with the origins of the national holiday. While the first notable American thanksgiving dates from the Plymouth Colony in 1621, it was in the midst of the Civil War that Abraham Lincoln proclaimed it a national holiday. Lincoln called on the nation, still waging the bloodiest conflict in its history, to give thanks to the Almighty for its blessings -- that foreign powers had stayed out of the war, and that the nation had continued to grow: Needful diversions of wealth and of strength... to the national defense have not arrested the plow, the shuttle, or the ship; the ax has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. He called on Americans to solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledge these blessings with one heart and one voice, while also joining to fervently implore the Almighty to heal the wounds of the nation, and to restore it… This nation did survive. Slavery was abolished. Over time, citizen movements built a better America. The civilizing movements of our time -- womens, civil rights, consumer and LGBT movements -- transformed our world. Those struggles continue from Occupy to the protests that will take place outside of more than a thousand Wal-Mart Stores on Black Friday. We all reap the benefits of those movements, while understanding much remains to be done. Thanksgiving, born in the midst of the Civil War, is the perfect time to give thanks to those who have come before and those who carry on. At the Campaign for Americas Future, we are thankful for all that you do. Your commitment and caring helps heal the wounds this nation still suffers. At our house, well enjoy the family, feast on the food, and peek at the football. Well protest the stores that steal the day from their employees. When we count our blessings, we will be sure to remember you. Thank you. Happy Thanksgiving. Thanks for all you do, Robert L. Borosage Co-Director, Campaign for Americas Future
Posted on: Thu, 28 Nov 2013 17:42:07 +0000
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