Thanks Giving. A great "story"

In 1620, Pilgrims  seeking religious freedom with the blessing of King James VI (of bible translating renown) had endured a harsh winter many had succumb to hypothermia or died of malnutrition.  When the spring came they co-operated with the native American people and learned how to fish, hunt and farm and the following year had such an abundant harvest that they invited the natives who taught them how to survive to an autumn feast to celebrate.  I've been hearing that since I was in kindergarten and it's a great story, but unfortunately that's all it is, a STORY.
             
            The MYTH that the United States was started as a "religious" colony is a myth.  Since the 1490s when Spanish ships were returning from across the Atlantic laden with gold and silver the rest of Europe (especially England) took notice). There were 102 people aboard the Mayflower, 49 of those were Pilgrims and that 49 included women and children.
           For more than a century Spain had been bringing back untold wealth from the "new world" and England wanted its share.  They figured the best way to do that was "giving" land to English citizens who would be willing to simply occupy it.  There were those aboard the Mayflower who dreamed of finding gold, but unless they traveled south to Mexico, it's unlikely they ever saw any.

           Let's examine the pilgrims. They were members of the "Puritan" sect of the Anglican church OR Church of England. They were vehemently opposed to Roman Catholicism and felt the "mainstream" Church of England was too tolerant to immoral types. They felt the church should have been more active in the lives of the average citizen. In other words they wanted a theocracy as evident by the fact that throughout the 1600s they tried and executed persons for witchcraft. Supposedly the "pilgrims" got help from the Natives.
           That IS true, it has however been subsequently shown. that the indigenous people had NO IDEA that the Europeans had planned to stay. They presumed the Europeans were merely visiting and the Natives were doing the DECENT thing and not letting a group of incompetent people starve to death.  The would later learn at gun point as  the people of Africa and India would later discover that the British had no intention of leaving.  The fact that some of the land was given to religious fanatics DOES NOT mean that America is or was ever intended to BE a religious colony.

           European indentured Servitude was a harsh existence. It was essentially becoming someone's slave for a period of up to seven years at the end of which you'd be granted freedom and land; however, there were many unscrupulous businessmen who had indentured servants. Servants were often beaten, given just enough food to survive and there were laws which could add time to one's contract of indenture. In other words if a servant offended his contract holder, months or even years could be added to his contract. Some indentured servants assaulted or even killed those holding their contracts. More often than not they ran away and hid in other towns.
        The colonial solution to this was the enslavement of the African. The African did not have to be freed. You owned the African for the entirety of his life. In fact, colonies like Virginia made freeing an African slave so prohibitively expensive,  that it was cheaper to keep him/her.
       American slavery was simple. More slaves equaled more wealth. You could get a breeding pair and work the man to death knowing that his children will be your property. You could take liberties with his wife and any children she had would also be your property (thanks to colonial laws). Odd that those who believe that America was founded as a religious colony never express how the book of Exodus (NEAR THE FRONT) so vehemently opposed it.
 
                   The goal of this piece is NOT to bash the United States. I love this country, but I'm NOT a fan of fairy tales.  Am I opposed to "giving thanks"? No, I do so every day and I think we should all be grateful for what we have. I'm glad that I don't wake up each morning hiding from secret police and death squads dispatched by some dictator, but I'm also aware of the fact that MOST of the countries which HAVE dictators, secret police and death squads were once colonies of European nations who entered to take gold, silver, tin, tungsten, ivory, rubber, oil and in some cases even people.
          There is a popular racist theory that states that black Americans like myself should be especially grateful that we were spared the gut wrenching poverty and warfare of Africa by having our ancestors kidnapped and sold as livestock. That ignorant theory ignores the fact that Africa in the early 1500s was wealthy and had several strong governments and societies like the Songhai, Mali and Mandingo, not to mention the Great Zimbabwe. The "grateful negro" theory also ignores that the Dutch & French incited inter African warfare to promote political instability and get gold and slaves cheaply amid that instability.
       In other words, to make themselves rich from 1500 to 1900 Europe and later the United States would take the wealth of Mexico and all countries south, Africa, Asia and Australia. We don't have to hark on that, but we'd be fools to forget it or to simply pretend that it never happened.


           President Abraham Lincoln declared a national day of Thanksgiving in November of 1863, but it didn't become a national holiday until President Franklin D. Roosevelt made it one in 1941.  I'm of the opinion that if you're going to give thanks do it every day because as most combat veterans will tell you every day above ground is one for which you should be thankful. If you're going to conjure up a story in which religious fanatics who stole land and eventually INTENTIONALLY spread small pox to those from whom they stole it are cast as "noble pilgrims" seeking "religious freedom",  then don't expect the descendants of those from whom they stole it or the descendants of the slaves  bound to that land for the entirety of their lives to enjoy it as much as you do. Save me a slice of white meat and some dressing. "Happy" Thanksgiving.

How to "Thank" a Veteran for Their Service.

"Thank you for your service." I want to say this expression came into existence in the early 2000s during the George W. Bush Administration shortly after the "War on Terror" started.  These United States treated service members returning from Vietnam like pariahs near the tail end of the war and until the first part half of the 1980s. It was a losing effort and George W. Bush didn't want to see American veterans mistreated as they returned from the war to which he was sending them.
               Then president Bush said to "Thank" a veteran for his or her service and people began doing so.  I've heard it so many times that it almost sounds like "gesundheit" when someone sneezes. People SAY it, but does it actually MEAN anything?

             The United States has ALWAYS treated our veterans with dignity and civility...right? Hardly. During our revolutionary war John Latrens the son of a wealthy South Carolina planter who raised a regiment of slaves to fight for the Continental Army. The Congress promised Laurens' men their "freedom" in exchange for fighting for their new country. Laurens died in the last weeks of the war and all the slaves who'd fought in his command were unceremoniously returned to their masters. They were given what the U.S. Marine Corps would affectionately call "the green weenie" a nice Corpism for "you've been screwed."  Laurens' regiment were NOT alone, men who fought with Washington had been promised pensions but the congress reneged.
            At the end of the American Civil war pensions were paid to disabled vets, homes for veterans were established, but after 1900 the pro veteran sentiment wore thin as many questioned WHY we were still paying pensions to men who'd lost arms, legs and their sight or why it was necessary to have homes for them some 50 years after their war had been fought. Men returning from World War 1 were denied pensions promised to them and staged demonstrations in Washington DC which turned into riots.  The federal government after the riots gave the veterans what had been promised them.
            Before world war two ended congress decided that the returning veterans would get a better deal than their predecessors who'd fought in the first "war to end all wars". They were given a "GI  Bill of Rights." G.I. stood for Government Issue and was also a term American Servicemen called themselves to imply that much like the clothes they wore, beds on which they slept and boots they were they were interchangeable  parts of a huge machine run by Uncle Sam.

          While World War II era vets did get educational benefits and could get low interest home loans, their issues with post traumatic stress were essentially ignored and trivialized. The same applied to veterans who served in the Korean conflict. Because of intense media scrutiny, American politicians in the post Vietnam era decided that the mistakes made during the war in Southeast Asia would not be repeated. Veterans who suffered from post traumatic stress had access to mental health services. Those who had been in contact with harmful chemicals like Dupont's "Agent Orange" could receive medical care and pensions.

      Present day, on Veterans day, American Vets are thanked for their service. Big corporate restaurant chains will give vets a free cup of coffee or a meal on the day in question and veterans will  be bombarded with "thank you for  your service." I would like to say to corporate America, rather than giving vets a cup of coffee,  a stack of pancakes or an order of hot wings, hire us.
Give a man or woman who has a sense of discipline a JOB.  HIRE someone who can work with people with whom they might not agree, but will put their personal issues aside and put the job and the team FIRST.  Employ a man or woman who knows how to meet a deadline and knows the meaning of the words respect, loyalty, duty and honor.
      If someone were to ask the average Veteran if  they had a choice between a JOB and a cup of coffee, I'll wager the veteran would probably go with the former. Personally I'd say "both", but what do I know. You want to honor a vet or "thank" them for their service? Give them a job. You'll both be glad you did.