Don's Tuesday Column

         THE WAY I SEE IT   by Don Polson  Red Bluff Daily News   11/28/2017

            Grateful for much that’s given

Most years, the Thanksgiving holiday comes and goes with little attention to what it’s really all about; it’s not eating, sports and shopping. The tradition that began with some of the highest-minded sentiments ever to grace our public pronouncements is now gloriously mundane.

The first Thanksgiving Proclamation occurred in the immediate aftermath of both the victory in the War of Independence from England and the final formulation and acceptance of the Constitution of the United States. The conclusion of the first Federal Congress on September 25, 1789, prompted the introduction of a resolution calling on President Washington to “recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer….”

While not the start of an annual event, begun officially by President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War, it nonetheless created a precedent whereby the nation’s leader would 1) respond to congressional urging by 2) forming his own sentiments which 3) were respectfully submitted to the governors of states. Also, a request for their acquiescence by publishing it in newspapers and public places. It was all done to conform to the new constitutional order.

“Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor…a day of public thanksgiving and prayer…acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God.” Chief among those favors was “an opportunity to peaceably establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.

“[Thanksgiving Day is] to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be—That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks—for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation—for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his Providence which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war…

“(A)nd also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions—to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually—to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed…To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the encrease of science among them and us—and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.”

Let us find a unifying sense of true gratitude for our, and America’s, many blessings.

After hearing and reading the briefings and statements of our local law enforcement and prosecuting representatives, it is sadly unsurprising to conclude that nothing went awry, no legal opportunities were missed and, outside of the Rancho Tehama murderer’s own motives and actions, nothing could have been done differently to prevent his rampage. Unlike the Texas church killer, whose record of military discharge and violent domestic assault failed to be entered into the federal database—resulting in legal sales of guns that should have been denied—I have yet to hear how “the system” failed. Neither have I seen a recommendation for preventing the next homicidal nut doing what he did.

It’s now a bit of “what if” speculation but what if the neighbors that he attacked last January had been armed and justifiably killed him as they had reason to fear for their lives? What if every other law-abiding person he shot at or got close to had a gun? If school employees had been armed, they would have been able to kill him, wouldn’t they? Why should we have to put up with the mentality, like some old fool regales us, that anyone proposing that legal gun ownership is the first line of defense is a NRA stooge and pro-gun hack?

This is now, apparently, the equivalent of the Wild West, where no matter how many cops and deputies there are, there will never be one standing next to the bad guy wanting to kill you, or next to you when he acts on his homicidal rage. Buy a gun; train to use it; legally carry it.

Look up “Seven Things Conservatives Should Be Thankful For,” by Kurt Schlichter. Number 1 is “Be Thankful That Hillary Is Not Our President,” and they get better, concluding with Number 7, “Be Thankful That We Have All The Guns.”

Here are a few ideas from Deroy Murdock, in “This Thanksgiving, Thank Donald J. Trump”: Record Dow Jones Industrial Average, NASDAQ and S&P 500; $5.4 trillion in new wealth since his election; deregulation, expected lower tax rates and applause—not denigration—for free enterprise in the White House.

Economic growth topping 3 percent, twice the Obama rate; low, and getting lower, unemployment; “American companies have been expanding operations here rather than shipping jobs overseas…Foreign firms have been unveiling facilities and creating jobs in America.”

More energy production, approval of Keystone XL and Dakota Access Pipelines with 42,000 jobs; no more of Obama’s War on Coal; no more bogus Paris “global warming” deal; the end of Obama’s trillion-dollar “Clean Power Plan;” net neutrality—gone; conservative judges like Neil Gorsuch are on the Supreme Court and rapidly filling lower courts. Yah-hoo!

Finally, look up “DEMOCRAT NEWS NETWORK: CNN Fails To Report These 24 Democrat Sex Scandals—All of the Democrat sex scandals that CNN has failed to report on have made news in 2017, with 19 of the 24 making news within the last month.” (By Ryan Saavedra)