So, The Christmas Marketing Can Wait Another Day

I get a certain satisfaction from those social media memes that joke, “For every Christmas light that goes up before Thanksgiving, an elf dies.” Not that I have anything against elves. I am sure they are very nice. Thanksgiving comes before Christmas, and it is a uniquely American holiday that should be properly recognized.We see it increasingly every year. Immediately after Halloween, the Madison Avenue marketers and profiteers start the push to “buy, buy, buy” for the Christmas holiday. In some cases, stores are starting to put up Christmas merchandise even before the Halloween candy goes on sale. Jack Skellington riding a reindeer. How pithy.In my humble opinion, it diminishes both Halloween and Christmas. But more importantly, it completely ignores the uniquely American holiday that is Thanksgiving, and that is really disheartening.Everyone should know the story of the first Thanksgiving and the formative history that brought it to be a national holiday. I say should because, as you all know, accurate and fact-based history isn’t taught in our schools today. Another reality that is disheartening, but I digress.To give a brief overview, I turn to The History Channel, which, for most of what they do, at least attempted to have fidelity to the truth:And so it is that the Thanksgiving holiday is one that is born of Americanism. It is ours as a nation, yet today, we give it short shrift as a day when we eat well, watch football (if you’re into that, my football-watching days ended with the brilliance of the 1985 Chicago Bears), and end up arguing with the outspoken and/or over-imbibed relation who just needs to display his or her ass about politics and current events, all as the whisper of Christmas licks at the window.The fact of the matter is this. We, as individuals and as a nation, have quite a bit to be thankful for this Thanksgiving, and we should take the time to breathe and give thanks for it all.Politically, whether you are a Trump supporter or one of the vocal few who suffer from Trump Derangement Syndrome (a real affliction, I might add), we now have a government in waiting that is one of the most diverse and focused in recent history. Kennedy, Gabbard, and a plethora of individuals from outside the Deep State bureaucratic complex are focused on dismantling the inside-the-beltway apparatus, one that does very little but serve itself, in a quest to decentralize the federal government and return the taskmasters' whip to which the government is meant to obey to the people.Societally, it appears that the abstract lunacy—and I use those words to be consumed literally—the abstract lunacy of wokeism seems to be on the wane. DEI—Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion—is being abandoned by corporations all over the country and, in fact, the world. People are slowly becoming more comfortable discussing the ridiculousness of the transgender appeasement movement (true cases of gender dysphoria are documented at just 0.014% at the high end, internationally). And the identity politics charlatans of the genderism and racism activist crowds are fast losing the sympathies of an awakening public who sees their efforts as those of division and opportunism.But personally (and that’s what it all boils down to, doesn’t it), we all have a great number of things to be thankful for. While not a “land of perfection,” we live in the United States, and she is still the shining beacon on that hill that signals hope reigns eternal both for her citizens, those who quest to be included in her citizenry—legally, and the world.Many of us have family and friends that, sad to say, and just about everyone is guilty of it, have family and friends that we don’t embrace enough. Thanksgiving gives us a day, if only one out of 365, to dedicate ourselves to making sure they know how we feel, whether it’s a full-on embrace or just a smile and a nod of the head.Thanksgiving also gives us an opportunity to extend the brotherhood of man to those less fortunate than ourselves, to let those who feel they have been forgotten know they haven’t been. And to let those who serve us each day, out of sight and out of mind—the first responder firefighters, EMTs, and police officers; the nurses (both home health and institutional) and doctors, and our military men and women—to let them know we see them and are thankful for the protection they provide.So, while you prepare your Thanksgiving feast or sit on the couch watching football while someone else does, take some time—before the eating and drinking and before the conversations that sometimes may become heated—to give some thought to all you and yours have to be thankful for. When we stop and consider that singular question, we really come to understand how “wealthy” we really are as individuals, as a society, and as a nation.After the turkey is relegated to the sandwich-maker's heaven that the day after Thanksgiving affords, then—and only then—should we be forced to suffer the onslaught of the marketeers' “buy, buy, buy” and 24-hour-a-day Mariah Carey Christmas songs.That was almost Grinch-like, wasn’t it?Wishing you a very reflective, happy, and joyous Thanksgiving. God Bless America. Get full access to Underground USA at www.undergroundusa.com/subscribe