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here comes a time in life when we have to put silliness behind
us. The problem is, when I put silliness behind me, people laugh
at my ass. Rather, let us say that life is not free. There is
a price that we pay for all things in life (though I think to
pay by losing one's sense of humor would be too high a price
for anything). As we look about us, we can see how everything
has a price. There will be many a turkey on an American's table
this week. There was a price paid at the grocer --and in many
other places and ways-- to make that happen.
There
was also a price paid by our forefathers to make this land
a reality. Back at the first Thanksgiving, the Puritans not
only thanked God for their survival, but thanked their Indian
friends for their assistance. Had it not been for the Indians,
there might not have been a first Thanksgiving in America.
Of course, the Indians were rewarded with the virtual annihilation
of their race, and when the US sees that Indians can make
money gambling today, they promptly declare such activities
illegal, thereby carrying on our great tradition of Indian
bashing. There's a little more irony and pain in that statement
than humor.
However,
the ideals of Thanksgiving, ah, they are good and worthwhile:
to acknowledge our survival in the face of adversity, to share
our good fortune with others, to give thanks and be generous.
Those are pretty nice things, despite the shafting we gave
the Indians. (Hey, hang on, I am part Indian! O.K., I shafted
myself.)
If
we can acknowledge the good things in Thanksgiving, understand
that our bounty is to be shared, and remember that one must
pay a price to get to Thanksgiving... if we can do these things,
we might just become a better people. The thing about Thanksgiving
is that it should be a selfless holiday, and not a selfish
one. To help another is the greatest joy that can be brought
into one's home on this day. Thanksgiving is a time to share
our good fortune.
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ne of the ways that we can share in this spirit (not talking
about any more Indians; there are some good points there,
but we are going to let them lie)... As I was saying, one
of the ways we can improve ourselves is to share in the spirit
of that first Thanksgiving, a spirit that thrived on the brotherhood
of man, a spirit that saw in the death of one man the death
of all men, a spirit of peace and cooperation. It is this
spirit of helping our fellow men and acknowledging our good
fortune that has lead the United States and its allies to
allow peace to settle in the Balkans. In the little known
area of Bosnia, where genocide reigned in the early 1990's,
there is peace today.
As
with the first Thanksgiving, there is a price that has been
paid to get to the Thanksgiving itself. In this case, besides
the terrible and ugly price that civil war and ethnic strife
has brought to the Bosnians, the allied nations today pay
their own price in keeping peace in that war-torn land. They
pay a price in young men and treasure. These are the Peacekeepers
(the soldiers that enforce the Dayton Peace Accords) and the
rebuilding effort. They are our price for a Thanksgiving there.
We can neither build the world nor be our brother's keeper;
but we can help in some places. This is a place where we can
help, and pay that price to get to a Thanksgiving.
For
me, Thanksgiving is coming a little late this year. You see,
I don't go to Bosnia to become one of the Peacekeepers until
Sunday, November 28; a good three days after Thanksgiving
on Thursday. It doesn't matter though; I can share good fortune
anytime, and I am not limited to one day a year.
Happy
Thanksgiving.
I'll
write again in 9 months, when I get back.
:-P
--
Bad Irving
P.S.
I am also thankful to hear that Bosnian women have big boobs!
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