Wednesday, November 23, 2022

Thanksgiving

I like a lot of what the Z-man says. He's not perfect and I disagree with him sometimes, but I don't require that people I read or follow or quote or otherwise consider an ally be perfectly aligned with me in every single way. That's the way of the Leftist, not of normal, healthy people. Sadly, their paradigm is eating at our society like a terminal cancer, but I still believe in the happy ability to rub shoulders and make friendships with people that I disagree with: as long as their disagreement isn't motivated by racial hatred of me and mine (which is now common in America) or malicious intent of destruction or catastrophic change towards my nation and my culture (which is also common in America). In that respect, the Z-man is a pretty good ally, who says a lot of things that most Americans need to come to terms with, most of whom have not yet, and he says it in a way that is sufficiently eloquent to be convincing and conversational and casual.

But this may well be his best post yet.

I'll quote much of it, with only one embedded editorial comment:

Thanksgiving is arguably the greatest American creation, despite being the one thing we have not tried to export. Around the world there are American outposts selling degeneracy of various sorts, along with the supposed ideals of the American empire, but you will never get a sales pitch on Thanksgiving. It speaks to the nature of the current ruling elite that gratitude is not something they think about when trying to change the minds of people abroad.

Regardless, the long holiday that is upon us is special. It is a long weekend of doing little more than giving thanks for what we have as individuals. We do not give thanks to our overlords for anything. We do not give thanks for our stuff. We do not even give thanks for the great fortune of being an American. It is much simpler and more honest that all of that. It is a day to be happy that you are alive, you have friends and family and you are able to enjoy those things.

What makes the holiday better than most is that it is at least a four day weekend and is slowly becoming a weeklong affair. Within living memory most people had to work Friday if they wanted to get paid for Thursday, but that is long gone. Most employers give their people Thursday and Friday off, except retailers, of course. Many offices now close up early on Wednesday. All week offices are light on staff as people use their personal time to extend the holiday.

The funny thing about Thanksgiving is it does not celebrate any of the things that have come to define America. There is no soulless gift giving. Christmas has been turned into an orgy of material self-indulgence. It is reasonable to say that what goes on in this country around Christmas is grotesque. Our other holidays are civic affairs designed to celebrate the government or warmongering. Usually, they are on a Monday so we get a long weekend, but they have no meaning.

Thanksgiving is unique in that it is about you as a person taking time to think about the good things in your life. The big traditional meal with friends and family focuses the mind on those human relationships. Even in these easy times, life is hard, so taking time to count your blessings is a gift you give yourself. Being grateful is one of those odd things that just makes you feel good. Having a long holiday to eat traditional foods and be grateful is an amazing thing we have created.

It is the gratitude part of it that gets to the heart of the current crisis. All around us are people doing nothing but showing their ingratitude. America is filling up with ingrates who do nothing but complain. One can possibly understand the ingratitude of black people [ed. That's an overly charitable interpretation. I disagree. Black people in America have been phenomenally pampered the last few generations, but with some exceptions, they have no appreciation or gratitude for it, instead imaging themselves the victims of imaginary oppression.], but the endless complaining from new arrivals is maddening. Even worse is seeing useless weirdos freeriding on society complain that the rest of us are not thanking them for being parasites.

Joe Sobran put it best. “The white man presents an image of superiority even when he isn’t conscious of it. And, superiority excites envy.” That is the heart of the matter and probably why we invented Thanksgiving. It is our nature to build and create, which is why we are naturally grateful for what we have. A people who built a great civilization out of nothing have a lot to be thankful for, so having a long holiday to take our time and be grateful makes a lot of sense.

Even now, with all that is going on, we have plenty of reasons to take the next few days to count our blessings. The Good Lord in his wisdom has provided us with enemies who possess none of the qualities we respect. They may have inherited power, but they lack the ability to wield it responsibly. Like men on death row, our betters walk around with an expiry date on them. It is a long struggle, but we know that in the end we will prevail and for that we must be thankful.

Of course, we also have the community of dissidents that is slowly forming up to provide fellowship and support as we struggle though this age. Those of you who were at AmRen last week certainly know what I mean. You come back from such things humbled and grateful, because you have been reminded of how fortunate you are to be alive in this time. To be blessed with a life of struggle, to have a reason to be better each day, is the greatest gift of all.

I'm also off of work for the holiday, and have filled up my weekend plans with family events, and stuff like that. I don't know that I'll post anything on the blog after today. Most likely not. Happy Thanksgiving to all, y'all! Never forget to be grateful to God for your many blessings. Even in times of tribulation, you have likely been very blessed. In fact, often in times of tribulation we see our blessings even more clearly.

"All right, but apart from the sanitation, the medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, a fresh water system, and public health, what have the white men ever done for us?"

-- Women and people from every Third World craphole country in the world. 
 

No comments: