Happy
Thanksgiving!
Our modern celebration of
Thanksgiving has its roots in extreme hardship. The Pilgrims who arrived on
these shores in December of 1620 struggled mightily, as the Plimoth
Plantation describes:
Many of the colonists fell
ill. They were probably suffering from scurvy and pneumonia caused by a
lack of shelter in the cold, wet weather. Although the Pilgrims were not
starving, their sea diet was very high in salt, which weakened their bodies
on the long journey and during that first winter. As many as two
or three people died each day during their first two months on land. Only
52 people survived the first year in Plymouth. When Mayflower left
Plymouth on April 5, 1621, she sailed back to England with only half of her
crew.
Nevertheless, in the fall of 1621, a year
after their arrival, they sat down for a feast and a three-day
celebration of Thanksgiving. They had befriended and made a treaty of
mutual protection with the Pokanoket Wampanoag leader, Ousamequin, also
known as Massasoit to the Pilgrims. He and 90 of his men joined the
celebration.
In the 1800s, this famous celebration became the basis
for the story of the First Thanksgiving.
As the Pilgrims did, we
should pause to reflect on all that is good and on the Source of this
goodness. And as President Washington reminded Americans in his
1789 first
Thanksgiving Proclamation, we must also pray for good, constitutional
government:
…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…
I am particularly thankful for all of
you who donate
to support our just cause and for your many messages of encouragement
to me and my hard-working Judicial Watch colleagues who, in “private
stations,” work for a “wise, just, and constitutional” government. We
will continue to fight for the truth and transparency, shed light into the
darkness and be a small beacon of hope for you and of other patriots of our
great nation.
On behalf of all of us at Judicial Watch, I wish you
and yours a most blessed Thanksgiving!
Until next
week,
