The True Meaning of Thanksgiving

As we gather with family or celebrate at a distance to take part in Thanksgiving, let us take a moment to reflect on this American holiday. Most people think of Pilgrims and Native Americans having a feast to celebrate the former’s first corn harvest. But it wasn’t until 168 years later that the first Thanksgiving Proclamation was made, and there was no mention of Pilgrims. There was, however, mention of God.

General George Washington declined Cornwallis' terms during the Siege of Yorktown. Shortly thereafter, Cornwallis surrendered—effectively ending the Revolutionary War.

In October 1781, when General Cornwallis surrendered his British army, it marked the birth of a nation. To General George Washington, the victory also demonstrated an act of God. Heavenly protection could be the only explanation for the fledgling Continental forces to win-out over the world-class British army. In fact, throughout the war, Washington credited “Providence” for the Continental Army’s success – even joking in a letter to his brother that he would be obliged to “turn preacher” following the war.

Eight years following the triumph at Yorktown, George Washington was inaugurated as the first President of the United States of America. Less than six months into his presidency, Washington made the first Thanksgiving Proclamation—the words of which are of as much import today as they were when it was written on October 3, 1789.

By the President of the United States of America. a Proclamation.

Whereas 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—and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me “to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.”

Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be—That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks—for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation—for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his Providence which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war—for the great degree of tranquillity, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed—for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted—for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.

and also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions—to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually—to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed—to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shewn kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord—To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the encrease of science among them and us—and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand at the City of New-York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.

America’s first President can teach us a valuable lesson in the importance of faith and patience. It would be easy to read these words and wonder if God’s hand is still guiding our Country. Let us not forget that George Washington endured eight and a half years of war. Despite losing many battles, time and again the Lord allowed him to escape with enough men to fight another day. Because of his steadfast conviction and his army's remarkable resilience, General Washington was victorious in the end.

Let us take this time with family to thank God and also to see His ever-guiding hand even in the most difficult times, just as George Washington did.

It wasn’t until 1863, in the aftermath of another war, that our 16th President Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving an annual holiday—due in large part to the efforts of Sarah Josepha Hale, the author of "Mary Had a Little Lamb."

By Jay Sekulow

Tri-Star CPAC wishes you a safe and happy Thanksgiving.

The Left Is Hell-Bent on Taking Down the Institutions That Define Us

Every political pundit in America has an opinion as to what was really on the ballot last Tuesday. Most of these experts utilized exit polls listing familiar issues: inflation, energy prices and supply, border chaos, violent crime, cashless bail, defunding the police, abortion. All are legit and at least partially determinative as to the results.

Still, such polls are not designed to capture more subtle initiatives that fuel party agendas. One example is the left’s unrelenting, multi-front campaign to undermine America’s foundational institutions.

A cursory review of the evidence will cause sleepless nights — as if the midterms had not done enough damage to your sleep habits.

The nuclear family. Alleged to be the very foundation of masculine (read: chauvinistic) culture. Hence, this era’s doubling down on the war against fatherhood has brought devastating consequences to families of all colors. We should have recognized the culture was in deep trouble when those who report on the social maladies that follow from fatherless families were dismissed as “racists.”

Parents and kids. Welcome to the age wherein a vocal minority of teachers (and their unions) presume to remove parents from the most personal of medical decisions by children of tender age. But the New Left’s rapid progression from woke progressivism to explicit sexual indoctrination in elementary school is proving to be a bridge too far. (Finally, we have located that bridge.)

The bottom line: Suburban moms will not put up with the trauma-inducing sexualization of their children.

The First Amendment. Today’s left — drifting 180 degrees from their ’60s-era cousins — seeks to limit speech wherever and whenever possible. They do so by alleging that speech they oppose is tantamount to incitement to violence and, accordingly, perfectly legitimate to suppress. And, yes, this problematic narrative has now been taught to generations of American college students.

The police. Remember 18 months ago when leading Democrats were advocating one or another form of police defunding? Well, they don’t. But, alas, it was all captured on video. The latest (and most desperate) line is that the huge spikes in violent and property crime are simply right-wing conspiracy theories. Hundreds of thousands of new crime victims around the country would disagree.

Thankfully, at least this latest sign of the apocalypse is proving to be a short-lived walk on the wild side.

The southern border. Remarkably, the “one world” crowd was able to gain traction in the Democratic Party over the past 20 years. 3.5 million migrants, countless tons of fentanyl and a hot market for human traffickers later and the average American has seen more than enough. Fortunately, most voters still buy into the notion that a country without borders… is not a country.

The Supreme Court. FDR has nothing on this generation’s cabal of court packers. Yup, it is a point of universal agreement on the New Left that the appropriate size of our highest court should be…whatever number will ensure a long-term liberal majority. For this group, originalism is worse than racism (see Dobbs vs. Jackson).

A likely forthcoming opinion that finds unconstitutional the employment of race as a factor in college admissions will send them over the proverbial cliff.

The media. Granted that most of the media has always tilted left. But the Trump era marked an inflection point in the media’s DNA. What was an all-encompassing opposition to all things Trump morphed into an anti-speech operation with co-conspirators Big Tech and various government law enforcement agencies.

They called it an attempt to counter misinformation. Many Americans (including the formerly principled group known as “liberals”) see it as more of a heavy-handed Orwellian thought control operation.

The Senate filibuster. Filibuster schmilibuster, say the very same politicians who not so long ago pledged their undying allegiance to this ultimate tool of the legislative minority. (And note that this timeframe includes the recent progressive Obama era.) Yet today it is regularly dismissed as a remnant of systemic racism. You can’t make this stuff up.

The Electoral College. For the aggressively progressive bicoastal elites, the EC is yet another antiquated concept of those easily (and regularly) denounced Founding Fathers. To boot, it is yet another racist process providing undue influence to small (read: red) states every second Tuesday of November every four years. So why not disenfranchise those yokels who watch Fox News and voted overwhelmingly for You-Know-Who?

The ongoing politicization of large government agencies (DOJ, IRS, DOD) provides further context for our institutional crisis but also produces an important takeaway: The purveyors of radical transformation are focused more than ever on taking down the institutions that have made America exceptional and that have literally defined us for 246 years.

That progressives are engaged in a feverish effort to hold on to power at the midterms is not surprising. This generation of leftists is hell-bent on cultural change. That they have enjoyed some success is beyond question. It’s enough to keep you up at night…

Bob Ehrlich - Op Ed to The Western Journal

No such thing as a 'Christian Democrat'

The Democrat party is now so extreme that no follower of Christ can align with it.

This past week Matt Walsh posted the following comments on Twitter. “The Democrats have settled on their closing argument: ‘Vote for us so that we can castrate children, use your money to pay for abortions, and put pornography in the schools. If you don’t vote for us, then you are a Nazi and democracy will die.’ Fascinating political strategy.” In these few words, Mr. Walsh highlighted a sad and sobering fact: The Democrat party is now so extreme that no serious follower of Christ can align with it. There is no longer any such thing as a “Christian Democrat.”

No matter what your political stripes, if you have an ounce of honesty left in your soul, you have to admit that today’s Democratic Party is no longer a party that any thoughtful Christian, whether they be Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, evangelical or mainline Protestant, can support.

Consider these simple facts.

Today’s Democrats have elevated abortion on demand above all else. First trimester, second trimester, third trimester, or even five seconds before birth, it doesn’t matter. The party has made it very clear: A mother’s right to kill her child and Planned Parenthood’s right to sell that infant’s heart, liver, kidneys, and lungs for profit, is the highest test of political loyalty. Forget childcare; child sacrifice is now the highest good of those who goose-step with President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris in their march to fundamentally transform our country and our culture.

And lest you think that infanticide is the only thing today’s Democrats care about, this party of all things antithetical to biblical faith has made it explicitly clear that they are far from being proponents of just one issue. Today’s followers of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and California Gov. Gavin Newsom are much more multifaceted than that. No one can accuse them of playing a one-string banjo. Not only do they believe in the moral superiority of dismembering babies, but they also champion the righteousness of castrating your boys and sexually mutilating your girls.

The hypocritic oath — what’s that? Today’s Democrats are much more interested in empowering witch doctors to cut off your son’s penis or remove your daughter’s breasts than they are in protecting your children from such blatant butchery. One has to wonder if Goebbels smiles from hell at the experiments that not even he dared to try.

But physical mutilation isn’t the end of it. What about the evisceration of young minds and souls? Today’s Democrats tell us that pictures of men having oral sex with minor-age boys and graphic depictions of a father raping his daughter are examples of some of the best literature available on “diversity, equity and inclusion.” Hyperbolic, you say? Well, check your school library for Maia Kobabe’s “Gender Queer” and Toni Morrison’s “The Bluest Eye” if you want to learn more about what today’s Democrats define as social and emotional learning (SEL) for your 12- and 13-year-old sons and daughters.

I used to concede that there were many Christian Democrats, but I no longer believe this to be true. Why?

Well, it was Jesus himself who said, “If anyone causes one of these little ones … to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.”

Castrating our sons? Mutilating our daughters? Killing our babies? Normalizing pornography in our schools? If these things don’t fall under Christ’s definition of “causing little ones to stumble,” I don’t know what does. Call me crazy but defining yourself as a follower of Christ while he’s tying a millstone around your neck seems just about as nuts as pretending you care about children while you cut off their functioning organs and corrupt their innocence with porn.

Christian? I don’t think so. “Outside are the dogs … the sexually immoral, the murderers … and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. I, Jesus, have sent My angel to give you this testimony for the churches.” (Revelation 22:15).

-Everett Piper, The Washington Times columnist