What is the true meaning and origin of Thanksgiving? It’s the same true meaning and origin of our founding, Declaration and Constitution. As Ronald Reagan wrote in his 1986 Thanksgiving Day proclamation, “no custom reveals our character as a Nation so clearly as our celebration of Thanksgiving Day,” as it is “Rooted deeply in our Judeo-Christian heritage” and “underscores our unshakeable belief in God as the foundation of our Nation.”
Thanksgiving, perhaps more than any other day or custom, when one truly understands the meaning and origin of the day, reveals just how divorced this country has become from its foundation. In this episode of the Conservative Conscience, Daniel goes through the history of Thanksgiving as a day of fasting, prayer, repentance, and beseeching God for his blessings and how it is inextricably tied to our founding as a nation.
Yet, when reflecting upon the true meaning of Thanksgiving one can’t help but feel sorrow over the dramatic change in the character of our nation. Our most sacred heritage has been ruled unconstitutional by the unelected courts. Even conservatives misunderstand the role of the courts and are ignorant of the true imminent threat they pose to our society – from district level to Supreme Court. Daniel explains his opposition to one of the most highly touted conservative replacements for Justice Scalia because that individual clearly doesn’t understand the role of the federal judiciary or our heritage embodied through Thanksgiving.
"Give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good." [Psalms, 107:1]
Key Quotes:
“Men, in a word, must necessarily be controlled either by a power within them or by a power without them; either by the Word of God or by the strong arm of man; either by the Bible or by the bayonet.” ~ Robert Winthrop, former Speaker of the House, 1849
“Let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.” ~ George Washington, Farewell Address
“[a] day of joyful thanksgiving to God for the bounties of His providence, for the peace in which we are permitted to enjoy them, and for the preservation of those institutions of civil and religious liberty which He gave our fathers the wisdom to devise and establish and us the courage to preserve. Among the appropriate observances of the day are rest from toil, worship in the public congregation, the renewal of family ties about our American firesides, and thoughtful helpfulness toward those who suffer lack of the body or of the spirit.” ~President Benjamin Harrison, 1891 Thanksgiving Proclamation
“I advise that on this day religious exercises shall be conducted in the churches or meeting places of all denominations, in order that in the social features of the day its real significance may not be lost sight of, but prayers may be offered to the Most High for a continuance of the divine guidance without which man’s efforts are vain, and for divine consolation to those whose kindred and friends have sacrificed their lives for country.” ~President William McKinley, 1899 Thanksgiving Proclamation
Show Links
What the latest, absurd, religious freedom case could mean for Thanksgiving
10th Circuit Sodom and Gomorrah Court’s Ruling (see page 9 for wickedly hilarious rules of standing)
List of Thanksgiving Proclamations from Continental Congress to the present
