President Donald Trump has released his very first Thanksgiving proclamation as POTUS,
in keeping with tradition.
In the process, he has humiliated his predecessor by doing the one thing which Barack Obama
never would.
The original purpose of the Thanksgiving holiday was to give thanks to God for all our blessings,
according to The American Presidency Project.
However, most Americans are unaware that Thanksgiving as a federal holiday was rooted in war; namely,
the Civil War's bloodiest battle.
Following the decisive Union Army victory at Gettysburg, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed
Thursday, November 23, 1863, as a national day of "Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent
Father who dwelleth in the Heavens."
By today's standards, Lincoln's Thanksgiving proclamation sounds like an eloquent church
sermon.
Following Lincoln's lead, since 1863 every president has issued a National Day of Thanksgiving
proclamation.
All of these proclamations are fascinating windows into U.S. history with the president
often using the occasion to summarize the national mood.
[Source: BizPac Review] Especially poignant was President Franklin
D. Roosevelt's last Thanksgiving proclamation, which was issued on November 1, 1944.
With World War II drawing to a victorious close, FDR wrote, "In this year of liberation,
which has seen so many millions freed from tyrannical rule, it is fitting that we give
thanks with special fervor to our Heavenly Father for the mercies we have received individually
and as a nation and for the blessings He has restored, through the victories of our arms
and those of our allies, to His children in other lands."
Near the end of his proclamation, after impressing upon Americans to "give a united thanks
to God," Roosevelt recommends "a nationwide reading of the Holy Scriptures during the
period from Thanksgiving Day to Christmas."
Today, we cannot fathom a president's Thanksgiving proclamation recommending a "nationwide
reading of the Holy Scriptures" for three weeks.
Such an assertion by the president would undoubtedly result in an impending crisis over the separation
of church and state.
In light of this, it warrants taking a look at just how far has our nation has drifted
from the Judeo-Christian values it was founded on.
For example, President Barack Obama's final Thanksgiving proclamation in 2016 did not
mention the name "God" or "Almighty" in the text even once.
Instead, Obama lauded "tolerance" and "inclusiveness" as the end all to be all,
writing, "As we gather in the company of our friends, families, and communities — just
as the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag did centuries ago — let us strive to lift up others, promote
tolerance and inclusiveness, and give thanks for the joy and love that surround all of
us."
Fortunately, though, it is now 2017 and God is back in the White House!
In fact, President Donald Trump's Thanksgiving proclamation invokes the name of God five
times.
"On Thanksgiving Day, as we have for nearly four centuries, Americans give thanks to Almighty
God for our abundant blessings," Trump's proclamation begins.
"We gather with the people we love to show gratitude for our freedom, for our friends
and families, and for the prosperous Nation we call home."
Trump even quotes from Lincoln's 1863 proclamation, stating, "As President Lincoln recognized:
'No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things.
They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for
our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.'"
The president closes his proclamation by encouraging Americans to do what Obama would not.
"I encourage all Americans to gather, in homes and places of worship, to offer a prayer
of thanks to God for our many blessings," writes Trump.
As we celebrate Thanksgiving this year with our families gathered around, we would all
do well to take pause and reflect on the reason we are celebrating in the first place.
And, as we thank God for our many blessings, we ought to count our faithful president,
Donald J. Trump, among them.
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