The Landing of the Pilgrims, by Henry Bacon, public domain
The Big Picture –
By Glynn Wilson –
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Break out the turkey and dressing and don’t forget the cranberry sauce.
Get the football game up on the big flat screen HD TV, with the sound bar pumping out the crowd noise and pithy commentary.
It’s officially the 400th anniversary of America’s first Thanksgiving.
It’s a very important event for millions.
As we make a show of being back from Covid and economic distress with the Macy’s parade making a comeback in New York on NBC, the vast majority of people will either be traveling, visiting with family and friends or curled up on the couch watching the parade just wishing the tragedies buffeting the world would stop for a day.
To many, however, this Thanksgiving story feels like just another historical myth, creating a back story for European colonization, religious persecution and run amok capitalism, not to mention the near genocide of the native people who actually helped the poor pilgrims survive on these rocky shores after their long journey running from the King of England.
A statue of Ousamequin, the chief, or sachem, of the Wampanoag Nation, overlooks Plymouth Bay: Google
On Thanksgiving Eve, The Washington Post tried to do its part to explode the myth and tell the truth, not that anyone noticed on social media or cable TeeVee.
The headline?
Of course on Facebook and Fox News, that’s just a bunch of liberal claptrap.
“… the actual history of what happened in 1621 bears little resemblance to what most Americans are taught in grade school, historians say. There was likely no turkey served. There were no feathered headdresses worn. And, initially, there was no effort by the Pilgrims to invite the Wampanoags to the feast they’d made possible.”
“For the Wampanoags and many other American Indians, the fourth Thursday in November is considered a day of mourning, not a day of celebration.”
Without the Wampanoags, chances are the Pilgrims would not have survived at all, and we would be telling someone else’s story today. Their support was so appreciated, it was met with years of blatant discrimination and theft of their land.
Many engaged Americans may be asking: Is it time to reconsider the whole Thanksgiving thing?
Should we change the name to Harvest Day or something?
Will the Pilgrims and the Mayflower get sunk and go the way of Christopher Columbus, Robert E. Lee and all the other victims of “cancel culture” and the “#MeToo movement?”
I certainly hope so. But I don’t have time to hold my breath.
At least we have a national holiday and one day of the year to take a break from the out of control selfishness gripping the land to say “thank you” to someone for something. One altruistic day, maybe along with Christmas, to be forced to try to be kind and giving.
The Pilgrims were English settlers who came to North America on the Mayflower and established the Plymouth Colony in what is today Plymouth, Massachusetts. Their leadership came from so-called Separatist Puritans, who fled religious persecution by the King and Church of England for the tolerance of 17th-century Holland in the Netherlands.
After several years living in exile, they eventually set out to establish a new settlement in the so-called “New World” and found investors to fund the sea voyage that took 66 days of hell at the time. They established Plymouth Colony in 1620, and many years later, their story became a central theme in the history and culture of the United States.
No doubt about it. It is part of the myth we live by as a country and people.
Falmouth artist Karen Rinaldo created the painting “The First Thanksgiving–1621” at the request of the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches. A lithographic reproduction of the original painting was on display for more than 20 years at Plymouth Plantation
Of course like every other American holiday, it’s been bastardized by capitalism. More people by far focus on the sales on Black Friday and Cyber Monday than any quaint little story about Pilgrims and Indians.
It’s football season, so football reins king in this country.
What on Earth would we do without it?
If you are truly interested in the real story, you might start by visiting Pilgrim Memorial State Park, although the story they tell is probably comfortably within the myth.
You might come closer by visiting the Mashpee Wampanoag Museum.
Meanwhile, I’ll be taking a break from the campground hanging with good friends in College Park, one of the great little suburbs of D.C.
I suspect there will be more time commiserating by a fire than watching TV, but there will no doubt be some great food involved. I don’t know what all’s on the menu, but there will be IPA and maybe even a shot of fine whiskey.
There will be a time for toasts. I’m sorry for bringing this up again. I wrote about it just the other day.
But my toast, after all we’ve been through, is still going to be “To Winning.”
Because at least for now, we are, winning that is. If barely.
It may not be winning for long if some things don’t change, and fast.
Related: If Democrats Want to Win in 2022 and 2024, Stop Boring People and Go On the Offensive
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