There are many holidays on the Empire's calendar that are meaningless
to me. But Thanksgiving is different. Because the Empire was wise
enough to tuck an extra day on Friday, giving folks a welcomed 4 day
holiday, we, the Jarvis Tribe, have declared this time as, Family
Weekend. By Sunday afternoon a total of 18 family members will have
gathered, spent time grazing at the Turkey Laden Table, camping around
the large living room and basement, laughing and sharing the high and
low times during their last year. Only Josh will be stationed in
Germany, but will actually join us via Skype. Since we all come from
different places in life, we declare a, "No Politic" zone. We give
thanks that we are able to continue loving one another, despite our
differences. And we offer the hope that one day our nation can do the
same.
In the meantime, I am thankful to be the senior member of this Tribe,
and that we have so many caring, loving members. Especially I am
thankful for the woman who saw beyond my many obvious flaws, and took
me in and loved me unconditionally. After 36 years, I am ever more in
love with Cathy.
Carl Jarvis
On 11/26/15, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Boardman writes: "Any Americans who feel no shame for the state of their
country can be grateful for their psychic numbness and failed humanity."
US fighter jet takes off. (photo: Getty)
Thanksgiving for a Grateful Empire
By William Boardman, Reader Supported News
25 November 15
"Rooted in a story of generosity and partnership, Thanksgiving offers an
opportunity for us to express our gratitude for the gifts we have and to
show our appreciation for all we hold dear.."
So begins the official Presidential Proclamation of Thanksgiving Day, 2015,
signed and issued by Barack Obama. While it hearkens back to earlier
Thanksgivings in St. Augustine in 1565 and Plymouth in 1621, this is an
essentially imperial document than gives only vague lip service to giving
"thanks for the many blessings bestowed upon us." When his proclamation
gets
specific, in the third sentence, the President gives the highest place of
grateful honor to the source of global American imperial dominance:
We also honor the men and women in uniform who fight to safeguard our
country and our freedoms so we can share occasions like this with loved
ones, and we thank our selfless military families who stand beside and
support them each and every day.
This is, of course, fatuous pandering and a patent lie that is widely and
unthinkingly shared by much of a preoccupied populace. Our country and our
freedoms have needed no serious military defense for decades. Even amidst
the popular revival of terrorism hysteria these days, our country and our
freedoms need no military protection, because they face no credible
military
threat.
It is a nice thought to imagine Americans quietly sharing an inclusive and
comforting community in which we express gratitude for our gifts and share
them with others wherever in the world they meet our military. That might
actually achieve the aspiration of showing "appreciation for all we hold
dear." But the sad reality seems to be that, as a nation, we no longer know
what we hold dear, or even what we once believed we held dear.
Our country and our freedoms are unthreatened by others around the world
despite our well-cultivated baseless fear. At home, our country and our
freedoms are daily attacked by the cold dead hand of the unelected
corporate
state. Our country and our freedoms are daily attacked by the shrill,
vicious demagoguery of divisive factions that are as dedicated to the
dominance of minority views as any Taliban or ISIS or other monomaniacal
evangelist. Our country and our freedoms go daily undefended by a feckless,
reckless government that would rather control a cowed population than seek
conciliation and general well-being for all.
As things now stand in a nation more exceptional for its fragmentation than
its collective sense of confidence and purpose, a more honest sampling of
appreciation for what some Americans hold dear might include:
. Almost all American people can be thankful that their nation is not
involved in any serious wars, just turkey-shoots in Afghanistan, Iraq,
Syria, Yemen, much of Africa, and other places that produce few American
casualties while maintaining the constant expense of ordnance to no useful
purpose, but steady profit to the international arms industry.
. President Obama and his administration can be thankful that almost
none of their totalitarian surveillance and permanent-war-making powers
face
serious challenges, not even the President's assassination-by-drone
terrorism.
. American Muslims can be thankful that they have not been rounded up
and confined to internment camps (yet), for the duration of the preferred
endless hostilities.
. All minority-Americans can be thankful if no one in their family was
hurt or killed by police this year. Black families in that category can be
super grateful. Even white families can be a bit grateful, since cop
brutality isn't as completely bigoted as it sometimes seems.
. Media-American performers can be thankful that they will never be
held accountable as journalists for their culturally destructive and
dishonest hucksterism.
. Police-Americans can be thankful for their special above-justice
status, since even the most violent among them typically goes unpunished.
. The American prison complex can be thankful for another year of high
profits at the expense of decent people jailed for non-violent crimes by a
judiciary that has lost its sense of justice (with the significant
assistance and insistence of Congress claiming to act for an infantilized
and fearful American majority).
. Women-Americans can be thankful that it is still mostly lawful to be
a woman.
. American terrorists can be thankful that they can go on
assassinating doctors, torching clinics, executing church congregations, or
shooting up mosques without fear that anyone will call them "terrorists."
. The American public in general can be thankful that it remains
generally undisturbed by these or other American realities and that it
lacks
a widespread feeling that it has any personal responsibility to fix
anything.
. Ben Carson and the rest of the Republican field can be thankful that
they have yet to be deemed a danger to themselves or others, and have not
been forcibly hospitalized.
. Any Americans still nurturing the hope of living in an advanced,
civilized nation can be thankful that we have two presidential candidates,
a
man and a woman, who actually have credible records of espousing humane
values with regard to at least some of the critical problems we face.
Obviously one of them is Bernie Sanders. The other, better one is Jill
Stein.
. Upper-income Americans can be thankful for the country that cares
for them and neglects others, making sure, year after year after year, that
people who could learn are not educated, that people who could work are not
hired, that people who could eat are not fed, that people who could be free
are not.
. Any Americans who feel no shame for the state of their country can
be grateful for their psychic numbness and failed humanity.
As some were wont to say back in the day: "Things are going to get a whole
lot worse before they start getting worse."
So we can be thankful that things aren't worse already.
Blessing on all, regardless of just deserts.
Error! Hyperlink reference not valid. Error! Hyperlink reference not
valid.
US fighter jet takes off. (photo: Getty)
http://readersupportednews.org/http://readersupportednews.org/
Thanksgiving for a Grateful Empire
By William Boardman, Reader Supported News
25 November 15
"Rooted in a story of generosity and partnership, Thanksgiving offers an
opportunity for us to express our gratitude for the gifts we have and to
show our appreciation for all we hold dear.."
o begins the official Presidential Proclamation of Thanksgiving Day, 2015,
signed and issued by Barack Obama. While it hearkens back to earlier
Thanksgivings in St. Augustine in 1565 and Plymouth in 1621, this is an
essentially imperial document than gives only vague lip service to giving
"thanks for the many blessings bestowed upon us." When his proclamation
gets
specific, in the third sentence, the President gives the highest place of
grateful honor to the source of global American imperial dominance:
We also honor the men and women in uniform who fight to safeguard our
country and our freedoms so we can share occasions like this with loved
ones, and we thank our selfless military families who stand beside and
support them each and every day.
This is, of course, fatuous pandering and a patent lie that is widely and
unthinkingly shared by much of a preoccupied populace. Our country and our
freedoms have needed no serious military defense for decades. Even amidst
the popular revival of terrorism hysteria these days, our country and our
freedoms need no military protection, because they face no credible
military
threat.
It is a nice thought to imagine Americans quietly sharing an inclusive and
comforting community in which we express gratitude for our gifts and share
them with others wherever in the world they meet our military. That might
actually achieve the aspiration of showing "appreciation for all we hold
dear." But the sad reality seems to be that, as a nation, we no longer know
what we hold dear, or even what we once believed we held dear.
Our country and our freedoms are unthreatened by others around the world
despite our well-cultivated baseless fear. At home, our country and our
freedoms are daily attacked by the cold dead hand of the unelected
corporate
state. Our country and our freedoms are daily attacked by the shrill,
vicious demagoguery of divisive factions that are as dedicated to the
dominance of minority views as any Taliban or ISIS or other monomaniacal
evangelist. Our country and our freedoms go daily undefended by a feckless,
reckless government that would rather control a cowed population than seek
conciliation and general well-being for all.
As things now stand in a nation more exceptional for its fragmentation than
its collective sense of confidence and purpose, a more honest sampling of
appreciation for what some Americans hold dear might include:
. Almost all American people can be thankful that their nation is not
involved in any serious wars, just turkey-shoots in Afghanistan, Iraq,
Syria, Yemen, much of Africa, and other places that produce few American
casualties while maintaining the constant expense of ordnance to no useful
purpose, but steady profit to the international arms industry.
. President Obama and his administration can be thankful that almost
none of their totalitarian surveillance and permanent-war-making powers
face
serious challenges, not even the President's assassination-by-drone
terrorism.
. American Muslims can be thankful that they have not been rounded up
and confined to internment camps (yet), for the duration of the preferred
endless hostilities.
. All minority-Americans can be thankful if no one in their family was
hurt or killed by police this year. Black families in that category can be
super grateful. Even white families can be a bit grateful, since cop
brutality isn't as completely bigoted as it sometimes seems.
. Media-American performers can be thankful that they will never be
held accountable as journalists for their culturally destructive and
dishonest hucksterism.
. Police-Americans can be thankful for their special above-justice
status, since even the most violent among them typically goes unpunished.
. The American prison complex can be thankful for another year of high
profits at the expense of decent people jailed for non-violent crimes by a
judiciary that has lost its sense of justice (with the significant
assistance and insistence of Congress claiming to act for an infantilized
and fearful American majority).
. Women-Americans can be thankful that it is still mostly lawful to be
a woman.
. American terrorists can be thankful that they can go on
assassinating doctors, torching clinics, executing church congregations, or
shooting up mosques without fear that anyone will call them "terrorists."
. The American public in general can be thankful that it remains
generally undisturbed by these or other American realities and that it
lacks
a widespread feeling that it has any personal responsibility to fix
anything.
. Ben Carson and the rest of the Republican field can be thankful that
they have yet to be deemed a danger to themselves or others, and have not
been forcibly hospitalized.
. Any Americans still nurturing the hope of living in an advanced,
civilized nation can be thankful that we have two presidential candidates,
a
man and a woman, who actually have credible records of espousing humane
values with regard to at least some of the critical problems we face.
Obviously one of them is Bernie Sanders. The other, better one is Jill
Stein.
. Upper-income Americans can be thankful for the country that cares
for them and neglects others, making sure, year after year after year, that
people who could learn are not educated, that people who could work are not
hired, that people who could eat are not fed, that people who could be free
are not.
. Any Americans who feel no shame for the state of their country can
be grateful for their psychic numbness and failed humanity.
As some were wont to say back in the day: "Things are going to get a whole
lot worse before they start getting worse."
So we can be thankful that things aren't worse already.
Blessing on all, regardless of just deserts.
http://e-max.it/posizionamento-siti-web/socialize
http://e-max.it/posizionamento-siti-web/socialize
