Filosofa Ponders Thanksgiving 2020

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, Election 2020, Holidays, Personal, Political commentary, Social commentary

Today, in the United States, it is a holiday called Thanksgiving.  I won’t go into the history of the holiday, for frankly the history we all learned in our early school years was a white-washed lie.  But, for most of us the holiday lives on anyway, as we try to spend it with family and friends, remembering that no matter what is happening outside our front door, we still have much reason to be thankful … we live, we breathe, we have family and friends who love us, a roof over our head and food on our table … so much more than some people have.

That said … this year is a different kind of Thanksgiving.  The pandemic has had us in its grip for ten long months now, many of us have lost loved ones, our lives have been turned topsy-turvy, some have lost jobs and even their homes.  It feels … almost surreal, almost like a dream (nightmare) from which we keep hoping to waken.

For four years now, we in the U.S. have lived under a regime whose modus operandi was ‘divide and conquer’ and we have all paid a hefty price.  We are exhausted from it all, from trying to stay atop the latest ways in which our government was undermining our very foundations, blatantly disregarding our democratic processes, and indeed, our very lives.  We’ve lived with the most corrupt regime ever to occupy the highest echelons of the federal government in this country – if we thought that Richard Nixon was a crook … well, he looks like a cute puppy compared to the band of criminals whose salaries we’ve paid for four years now.

Today it was announced that new unemployment claims jumped to 78,000 from 18,000 the week before.  In the week of the election, nearly 26 million adults – 12% of all the adults in the nation – reported that their household didn’t have enough to eat.  As many as 40,000 people are behind on their rent or mortgage payments and at risk of losing their home.  When you look at this, you have to wonder – is there really anything to be thankful for?

My answer to that is that yes, despite it all, there is a lot to be thankful for.  We have just elected a good man, a decent and kind man to be our next president.  He is an intelligent man, has decades of experience in our government, first in the Senate and then for eight years as Vice President.  He is carefully choosing the best of the best for his cabinet and administration advisors.  He cares about the environment, he cares about the average person, he has a plan … he has a plan.  Joe Biden said something yesterday that was exactly what my favourite former boss once said to me … he said he wants his experts to tell him what he needs to know, not what he wants to hear.   That … that in itself is a breath of fresh air.

Yes, problems will still remain and I have no illusions that they can be resolved in a single four-year term, but … Biden and his team will do their level best to repair as much of the damage that has been done to this nation as possible.  Biden will be a president for the people, not just the wealthy CEOs of big corporations.  I listened to a clip from Joe Biden’s pre-Thanksgiving speech earlier tonight and I suddenly felt more confident, safer, and more hopeful than I have in the past four years.

The one thing, though, that We the People must do in order to help restore some semblance of order in our world is find a way to start resolving our differences.  This nation is more divided today than at any other time since 1865.  Hatred and violence are constant and exhausting.  We must begin finding ways to listen to one another, to forge a middle ground where we can meet halfway, for if we don’t, our nation will fail.  The ‘United’ States will become a conglomerate of separate countries, constantly at war with one another.

I will admit that my heart is not into the holidays this year, and were it not for the girls, I would be quite content to skip Thanksgiving and Christmas altogether.  I’m sure some of you feel the same.  But friends, when we stop and think about it, we do have much to be thankful for.  So, you can’t travel to Aunt Sadie’s for Thanksgiving dinner, or host Grammie ‘n Grampie.  It’s not the end of the world.  It’s sad, but it’s not the end of the world.  Take a deep breath, remember that tomorrow the sun will come up, it will be a new day, and 24 hours closer to January 20th.  And now, I ask you to listen to this short clip, just 2 minutes 45 seconds, of parts of Joe Biden’s Thanksgiving speech yesterday.  And then, off you go to cook that turkey or emu, as it were!  Enjoy your Thanksgiving, keep safe, don’t over-stuff your bellies,  and remember … you have much to be thankful for … we all do.  Love ‘n hugs from Filosofa.

30 thoughts on “Filosofa Ponders Thanksgiving 2020”

    • Thank you, John! We did have a very nice Thanksgiving, just the three of us, but I still did the turkey with all the trimmings thing and we enjoyed it. Miss Goose is cleaning up the mess as we speak 😉

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  5. Excellent post Jill! Yes, this holiday season is like no other in our lifetimes. But I must say, knowing Jan 20 is only a few weeks away makes me feel hopeful for the road ahead. Yes, it’s going to be a struggle. But our new president is, like you said, a good and decent man. He’ll always have America’s best interest at heart-not his own-which is what we’ve lived with these past four years. For that, we should all be thankful.

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    • Thanks Jeff! I will breathe much easier once Biden is in the White House and Trump is out of it, back at Mar-a-Lago playing golf. I wish Twitter would shut down his account, though! Then we can, hopefully, begin the healing process.

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      • I fear he’ll be a thorn in the side of Biden for years. I, too, wish that Twitter would suspend his account..permanently. He’s a danger to the very fabric of our democracy. And just because he’ll no longer be president doesn’t mean that he won’t continue to be dangerous. How sweet would it be if he were to be indicted and convicted, though? Maybe that would shut him up for a while!!

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        • I was thinking about this last night. I think the key to diminishing Donald Trump and his influence once he’s gone is the media. The media must realize that the minute he leaves the Oval Office, he is no longer relevant, but is a pathetic old man too ignorant to realize that he dug his own grave. If he gets the continual coverage that the mainstream media have given him since mid-2015, he will grow in stature, but if they ignore him, I think that eventually he will fade into the background much more quickly. Plus, by 2024 his chances at a successful run will have diminished. But that is the key … the media MUST ignore him completely … no pictures, no coverage of his lies and temper tantrums … nothing until they can print his name in the obituaries. Yes, I’d love to see him indicted, convicted, and fitted for an orange jumpsuit but … realistically? I don’t look for it to ever happen. Sigh.

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          • Totally agree Jill. And if I see one more damn story about why white rural Americans vote for the idiot I’m boing to explode. Enough with the diner interviews. I’m so done with these people!

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  6. “Biden will be a president for the people, not just the wealthy CEOs of big corporations.” —
    Happy Thanksgiving Jill and thanks for the laugh! Clearly you seem to have overlooked Biden’s track record when it comes to his alliance/ allegiance with his corporate overlords.
    His controversial legislation favoring big banks during the 2000s led directly to the 2008 financial collapse and the great recession. He was so egregiously corrupt making backroom deals with Wall St, the liberal news media labeled him “the senator from MBNA!” Joe Biden is every Republican’s wet dream, most conservative Senators agree with Biden’s policies… which is to screw over the working class. So I don’t see any partisan push back from Republican party when it comes to economics.
    Trump was an idiot, but he tried to preserve jobs in the US, and he succeeded to a certain extent. Biden would have no qualms about exporting the rest of US jobs overseas for cheaper wages and greater corporate profits.
    Now due to the pandemic and massive unemployment domestically, I’m sure he couldn’t overtly change policy favoring China and other 3rd world countries. We’ll see if this zebra will revert back to his old stripes if and when the economy improves.
    I highly recommend you and ur readers take off the rosy glasses for a minute and research Biden’s economic policies and legislation during the Bush administration and under Obama, it’ll make ur toes curl.
    Cheers and Happy Holidays! ❤

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      • I’m more than willing to give Biden a chance once Trump leaves office… but that’s still an IF. His actions of replacing officials within the Pentagon with his own unqualified loyalists still worry me. A military coup is still an option for him if the DOD generals follow his lead. Time will tell indeed!

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  7. Reblogged this on It Is What It Is and commented:
    I will steal your words because as you said – I feel like you do!! … “I will admit that my heart is not into the holidays this year, and were it not for the girls, I would be quite content to skip Thanksgiving and Christmas altogether. I’m sure some of you feel the same.”

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    • I fully agree that our Thanksgiving is waaaaay to close to Christmas, and to top it off, granddaughter Natasha’s birthday is on Saturday. My bank balance is dwindling rapidly, as is my energy.

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  9. Jill, many thanks for the summary, cautions and well wishes. As I said to Scottie on his cartoon summary, the toons are as much fearful as they are funny. I will not be content until the outgoing president is gone and the president-elect is sworn in. A key thing to know about narcissists, it is NEVER their fault, so it must have been cheating. He will carry this message for four years, just hopefully out of the White House.

    I am thankful for people like you who can understand what is going on. Best wishes my friend. Be safe. Be well. Keith

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    • Like you, I will not breathe easy until Biden is sworn in and Trump & family are gone from the White House. He’s still screeching his claims that he “won big” and that makes me nervous.

      Thank you, Keith … your friendship is one of the things I am thankful for today.

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  10. I wish nothing more than a coming together in a spirit of co-operation that will start the healing process Joe talks of but I feel the spirit is unwilling for one side who would like to forge a Nation where Church and Government are combined in a spirit of constipation, where Democrats have their backs against a wall and will never be in power again. It’s time to break the power of the evangelist church and appeal to the reasonable Republicans who also want a Country of Unity with assurances they are not to be denied their hopes by the intervention of troops. Trump has done much damage with his speeches and it will be a blessing once he’s gone.
    Cwtch and a Happy Thanksgiving.

    Liked by 1 person

    • You are right … there are those who have no desire or intent of working toward unity, for they have a desire to make this nation into something entirely different than what it has been for the past 233 years. All they are likely to succeed in doing is to tear the country apart and we will eventually become multiple smaller nation-states, continually at war with one another. But, I still hope that somehow these people will open their minds and allow a bit of sense to sneak in. Sigh. Yes, it will be a blessing when he’s gone, but the people who put him there will still remain.
      Cwtch and Thank You!

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