What to talk about this Thanksgiving

What to talk about this Thanksgiving


theoptimisticconservative




I agree wholeheartedly with LibbySternberg, KevinWhiteman, Jim Geraghty, and others that it is creepy and fascist of leftist policy advocates to put out guides
on how to discuss the specifics of programmatic and regulatory
proposals with your nearest and dearest over the holiday weekend.*I
assume most of you out there dont actually need instructions on what
to talk about over Thanksgiving. But what fun would it be to write a post on this topic and not offer some suggestions? So here goes.
1. What youre thankful for.
Du-uh. Ill start things off with saying that Im thankful for Gods
provision in my life and the lives of my loved ones. Ive decided to
spend the holiday being thankful and not asking the Lord for one blessed
thing more than the relatively sustainable, hanging-in-there mess that
trundles around with me. Theres a lot more to say here. Fill in your
own blanks.2. The blessing of not shopping on Thanksgiving.
Or, if you prefer, the opportunities presented by Black Friday deals
and special hours at your favorite department stores. Enjoy disagreeing
and laughing about it. Point out that some states actually prohibit
stores from being open on holidays. Reminisce, if youre old enough
to, about the much broader “blue laws” many states used to have. Decry
the consumer culture. Hug the young people who think youre an old
fuddy-duddy. Shake your head over the foolishness of literally camping
out in front of Wal-Mart for days before Thanksgiving, in order to get
through the door first when Black Friday launches on Thursday evening.3. The popes new apostolic letter, “Evangelii Gaudium” (Gospel of Joy).
Yep, just dive right in there. (And no, Im not Catholic, nor did I
sleep at a Holiday Inn Express last night.) What did the pope mean
about “a culture of prosperity” being a bad thing? What is
a culture of prosperity, as opposed to some other form of culture? (A
culture of poverty and limitations?) If the pope talks about whats in
our hearts – whether were caring about people or the stock market, the
forgotten lives of the lost or our next electronics purchase – what does
that mean about what governments should do?4. The meaning of liberty.
Youre going to end up talking about it anyway. Obamacare, gun rights,
reproductive rights, the IRS, the government shutdown, Republicans,
Democrats, the popes letter, Aunt Stella who cant stand it when
everyone talks so much politics – its going to come up. So talk. If
theres one topic that cant be left alone this Thanksgiving, its what
liberty means. The rubber has made contact with the road, people.
There isnt one single human transaction we can have, in anno Domini
2013, to which this discussion is not relevant.The
big political problem in our lives right now is that we Americans dont
have a common understanding of what liberty means: what it is we should
try to protect; what our government should respect as a prior right of
the people. We cant gloss over that problem anymore, even for a day.
That doesnt mean we need to have big fights about it in the next 120
hours, with our sisters or fathers or in-laws, but it does mean we have
to recognize that thats whats going on. We dont all see liberty as
meaning the same thing. That difference is the one that will decide our
nations future. By extension, it will decide the worlds future, for
at least a generation. Its everyones issue.I recommend starting your thought process with this editorial by Myron Magnet, from todays Wall Street Journal.
Its short. It focuses on the first Pilgrims, and on what I perceive
to be the core of liberty: liberty of religious and moral conscience.
If we do not have that, there will be no other liberties. We will be
beholden to man-made institutions for, literally, everything in our
lives, from our livelihoods to what we dare to hope for the future.And
dont worry about settling issues or coming to conclusions. We spend
most of our days on earth with no idea of the power of simply saying
things. People remember. They may disagree vehemently, at a moment in
time, but theyll remember what they heard. The day will come when
theyre ready to let it sink it. Be the person who said what they
remember. Dont let it be an ideologue or a conspiracy theorist who
said the last memorable thing. Get the ideas out there.Keep
in mind, Thanksgiving for us is an American holiday as much as a “holy
day” of thanksgiving to God. If we Americans dont talk about the
meaning of liberty, who will? Just remember to hug Aunt Stella.5. The commercialization of Christmas.
Or other rotten, lousy things that are being done to Christmas. Come
on, you know you want to. Ive got a nice little list of complaints
ready to expound on. I mean, seriously, the people two blocks over who
put out their lights and their menagerie of inflatable snowmen and
reindeer the day after Halloween (known in Christendom as All Saints Day)? What was that about? Not even Wal-Mart got the Christmas displays out that fast.6. Hanukkah coming early this year.
Who knew, right? Its usually in December, and gets paired in the
community consciousness, for no other good reason, with Christmas.
Well, we think of lighting candles for both of those holidays too.
Anyway, it starts this evening (the 27th) and runs through 5 December.
Remember to add Hanukkah wishes to your holiday greetings. Challenge
the kids to look up why Hanukkah falls on different days, and falls so
early this year (if they havent already had to look it up for school).
7. Football.
Not necessarily a safe topic in some households, but an ever-fertile
one in most. Either everybody loves football, or at least some
curmudgeons are famous for hating it. Either way, its good for a
yakk-fest, especially with the new “targeting” rules this year. To keep
things lively, be sure to bring up Rush Limbaughs theory on the
chickification of football (for the uninitiated, that means “the turning
of football into a girl-friendly sissypants spectacle, with pink
doodads and institutional safety terrors”). There are lots of annual
rivalry games this weekend in college football. There are some good pro
match-ups on tap. High school conferences have their state
championship games still to be played. Embrace the inner pigskin and
just make sure theres plenty of pie to go with.And to all at TOC Nation: A happy and blessed Thanksgiving and Hanukkah. God bless us, every one.*OK,
technically, Libby didnt mention that its fascist, and only implied
that its creepy, while Kevin alluded obliquely to the Stalinist nature
of the name “Organizing for Action.” But I promise, Jim Geraghty
invoked the “liberal fascism” allusion.J.E. Dyers articles have appeared at Hot Air, Commentarys “contentions,” Patheos, The Daily Caller, The Jewish Press, and The Weekly Standard online. She also writes for the new blog Liberty Unyielding.