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Up the Creek: Only in America
By Ken Byler
"Here! Eat this. It's called cornbread," said the Wampanoag to the Colonist.
Half of the Colonists who got off the boat at Plymouth Rock had died during their first year in America. The Wampanoag Indians had saved the Plymouth Colonists from starvation and were having dinner with them at the first Thanksgiving in America.
Thanksgiving is a good time to reflect on the good fortune of being American citizens. It's time to put the timber and tumult of the last election behind us. We should remember the words of the pPresident when he said that as a nation we should "fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and Union."
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| Ken Byler |
Now there's talk of secession again. There are notes of inquiry about secession from more than 30 states on the president's desk this Thanksgiving Day. There are folkswho believe dividing the country into blue and red is a good idea.
If the country were divided into blue and red, the blue country would get the best beaches, the Kardashians, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Snooki and the Jersey Shore. The red country would get more ocean front property, Rick Perry, Bobby Jindal, Swamp People, Moonshiners and Hillbilly Handfishing. The blue country would get Harvard, Yale and Berkeley. The red country would get Alabama, Ole Miss, Baylor and TCU. The blue country would get Detroit and the red country would get New Orleans. The blue country would get the New York Giants and the red country would get the Dallas Cow ... 'cuse me, Houston Texans. The blue country would get 66 percent of all tax revenue and the red country would get more than 80 percent of the mosquitoes, most of the snakes, more than 90 percent of the tornadoes and hurricanes, and 99 percent of the Southern Baptists.
No matter how the election may have divided up the country along red and blue lines, there's little doubt that America is still the greatest country in the world. Things can happen here that wouldn't happen any place else. Only in America would folks elect a stranger to run the country but forget to ask him for his ID.
Only in America do people need to present a driver's license or photo identification to open a savings account, cash a check and buy tobacco or alcohol, but not to vote. Only in America could people who believe the Constitution is a legal binding contract and want a balanced budget be thought of as extremists.
Only in America could politicians tell people who want to become legal American citizens they have to wait in line, while they figure out how to make citizens out of 15 million folks who snuck into the country illegally.
Only in America does a doctor go to prison for the rest of his life for assisting in the killing of a human being who wanted to die, while the government gives millions of dollars to an organization that assists in the killing of 400,000 unborn human beings each year.
Only in America could politicians talk about the greed of the rich at a $35,000 a plate campaign fundraiser. Only in America are rich folks, who pay nearly 90 percent of all the income taxes, accused of not paying their fair share.
So let's give thanks for being citizens of a country where almost anything is possible.
As for those Wampanoag at the first Thanksgiving ... after teaching the Colonists how to relax and light up tobacco following a big turkey dinner, the tribes' kindness was repaid by the Wampanoag being wiped out in America.
Ken Byler is a Star Newspapers columnist, author and artist. Email him at kbyler@tx.rr.com.
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