November 30, 2008

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  http://www.xanga.com/ThePopulist

   

  Xanga lost a great writer when Scott stopped writing his observations

   

  And I wish he would return…

   

   

  History is rarely what we have been taught by our culture..

   

   

   

  I am nabbing his post about Thanksgiving

  because with in it is a truth that we all need to hear

   

  yes its long….but read it!

   

   

   

   

   

   Wednesday, November 24, 2004

  The Original Thanksgiving © A. Scott Piraino When most Americans think of the origins of Thanksgiving, images of Pilgrims, the Mayflower, and feasts with Indians come to mind. That is not true. The Thanksgiving holiday we celebrate today originated in 1864, the bloodiest year in US history. The Civil War had been raging for nearly four years. Over half a million soldiers were dead in what was by far the biggest war on earth up to that time. In 1864, the American people had to choose whether to end the war and dissolve the United States, or continue the carnage and hope for victory. The Army of the Potomac had borne the brunt of the fighting, and had usually lost to the dashing Robert E. Lee. Bull run, The Peninsula Campaign, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville had been debacles for the Union Army. Only Antietam and Gettysburg could be called victories, and these battles were won because the Union held their ground, not by outmaneuvering the wily Confederates. In the summer of 1864 command of all Union Armies passed to Ulysses S. Grant. His grim strategy was to engage the Confederate armies in a relentless war of attrition. To that end, the Union Army under Grant fought a series of battles in Virginia. The Army of the Potomac suffered 66,000 thousand casualties in six weeks, losing over half their strength. Out west, Sherman’s Army faced equally stubborn Confederates in a battle for Atlanta. In the Shenandoah valley, another Confederate Army was marching towards Washington. In total, Union Army casualties in the summer of 1864 surpassed 100,000. The press and public were horrified. President Lincoln was criticized for his conduct of the war, and his insistence that slavery, and the confederacy, be destroyed before the war could end. With the Presidential election just four months away, the prospects for President Lincoln, and the United States, appeared bleak. Lincoln’s opponent in the election was George McClellan. A former Union Army General who was responsible for some of the bungled campaigns of the previous years. He promised an immediate end to the war, and negotiations with the Confederacy. Had he won, the United States would not exist. On August 23rd, President Lincoln wrote, “it seems exceedingly probable that this Administration will not be re-elected. Then it will be my duty to so cooperate with the President-elect as to save the Union between the election and the inauguration; as he will have secured his election on such grounds that he cannot possibly save it afterwards.” Then on September 3rd, Sherman captured Atlanta. Two weeks later a Union Army took the offensive in the Shenandoah valley. After three victories, the Shenandoah valley, breadbasket of the Confederacy, was in Union hands. Although the Army of the Potomac did not win any decisive victories in the summer of 1864, their sacrifice had finally besieged Lee’s Army. The most infamous Confederate army was entrenched at Petersburg, unable to move. The South now had no chance to defeat the Union in the field, and change the course of the election. After two months of campaigning, what had been a futile war with no end in sight suddenly appeared to be all but over. The reversal of fortunes was astounding. By October of 1864, it was clear that the Union would win the Civil War. That November, the American people voted to re-elect President Lincoln,and pursue the war to it’s conclusion. Grateful for the victories that had saved the United States, Abraham Lincoln declared the last Thursday in November to be a national day of Thanksgiving. Our country is being brought to the brink of another abyss by our cynical, corrupt leaders. Americans have survived tough times before, and we will suffer through the events of the near future. When we do let us give thanks. “Over half a million soldiers were dead in what was by far the biggest war on earth up to that time.” _______________________________________________________________ When you look back on the reality of what happened in our country not so very long ago, when we as a nation of human beings became so unconscious that we believed it necessary for us to kill our own brothers over disagreements of  ideology…. You are directly seeing the power of the collective egoic consciousness …for what it truly is The battle has been raging all day in the distance and I am unable to ascertain whether any thing has been gained or not. O how I long for this war to end. How I long for peace. How will I hail the day when I return to the bosom of my family. My Dear I hope to see you.” (Samuel D. Lougheed letter to his wife Jane “Jennie” Lougheed, April 30 – May 1 1863)   This is the same power that drove the nails into the Body of Christ A power that still rules our world today, and with far more control than ever. It’s danger enormous because by it’s nature it remains totally hidden from our eyes. No one man is to blame, Lincoln’s Thanksgiving day proclamation,  for example was made with the best of intention Even Bush was no more than a puppet, playing out a role scripted for him by an energy field he doesn’t even know exists The irony of giving thanks for one side “winning” over the other is totally insane. There will never be victors in War…..War is always a lose/lose situation.   I am thankful for one thing …. the power of the collective ego is an illusion we have created in our minds. I know that we as free people of this earth have the true power ….We can decide in this moment to choose to be presently conscious and dissolve this matrix of illusion which has blinded us for so long  from the TRUTH  I give thanks that we are free in each moment to decide.  Where we go from here ….Is a choice I leave to you.     Blessing to you all, and may your God be with you doug

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