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The Search for Freedom and a Better Life

What most Americans now commonly call the “First Thanksgiving” was a religious event celebrated to give thanks to God for guiding the Pilgrims safely to the New World. It is the story of dissenters rejected by English society, who came to America in search of religious freedom and a better life.

Having arrived in the New World, these early settlers gave thanks to the Author of Life for granting them safe passage to this abundant land and protecting them through a bitter winter – along with the help of some generous Native Americans.

In his Thansgiving Proclamation for 2012, President Barack Obama and his staff writers get history wrong. He attributes the first official day to President George Washington on October 3, 1789.

The very first official Thanksgiving Day in America was actually declared on October 11, 1782, by the Continental Congress.

Take time to go back and read that document and you will understand why current “politically correct” types will be shocked at its overt religious character.

Might one of our modern sins be the conversion of a national day of thankful prayer into an orgy of shopping, gastronomic gluttony and family friction fueled by alcohol and intolerance?


Thanksgiving officially has been an annual national tradition since 1863, when during the Civil War President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of thanksgiving to be celebrated on Thursday, November 26.

Both the proclamations of Lincoln and Washington emphasized the religious aspect of the day. Washington said: “It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor.”

Certainly among the many things for which we should be thankful are family and friends. When all else fails, it is to family and friends we turn for help and support. This annual family holiday underscores just such ties and their vital importance.

Gratitude defines us at our best. It does this by pointing away from self toward others, or toward a Higher Power some of us choose to call God.

So, too, our national day of Thanksgiving reminds us that there always is hope that life can be good and better – especially so in the United States of America, even in times of economic suffering and social turmoil.

So take a few minutes to review and understand the true meaning of this Thanksgiving Day. We should give thanks and be grateful for our liberty, thanks for those who fought and died to preserve it, for our own family and friends, most important among our many blessings.
 
And let us be thankful that we have our fantastic website where we can post anything to our heart's content. But we should not abuse this privilege and refrain from degrading our fellow members like what a legend is doing.


We can all count and realize our blessings this Thanksgiving 2012 and be grateful.

It is my wish that you and your loved ones experience a very enjoyable Thanksgiving in the true historic sense of the day — and in the coming days may God bless you and our America.

Faithfully yours,

ZANGGO

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