This Thanksgiving Felt Different
We need to carry on, keep our chins up, and all that. In spite of - because of - the devastation of our culture and the decomposition of our Republic, we must, as I said in America Needs a Renaissance, be brave. In that spirit, I entered Thanksgiving week determined to count my own -- and our collective -- American blessings, and to give thanks.
I must confess, though, that my feelings overrode my intentions. I found myself less thankful than usual, preoccupied with our country's fall from grace, indignant that we would willingly surrender our noble experiment in self-government, overwhelmed by ceaseless, intemperate change, and very, very worried. A William Wordsworth poem popped into my mind, expressing how I felt:
The world is too much with us; late and soon.
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers;
Little we see in nature that is ours;
We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!
This Sea that bares her bosom to the moon;
The winds that will be howling at all hours,
And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers.
For this, for everything, we are out of tune;
It moves us not. Great God! I’d rather be
A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn;
So might I, standing on this pleasant lea,
Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn;
Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea;
Or hear old Triton blow his wreathèd horn.
Next week - I guess that starts tomorrow - I'll "crack a smile," as my beloved British grandmother used to instruct me. I have one more day to fret and stew.
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May '10
Re: This Thanksgiving Felt Different
My immediate, free association thought is that on 11/7 what we heard was not a blast from Triton's horn, but a chord from Orpheus' lyre.
But let us not go gentle into that dark night, but rage against the dying of the American dream (apologies to Dylan Thomas).
Oct '10
Re: This Thanksgiving Felt Different
Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. - Psalm 146
Mar '11
Re: This Thanksgiving Felt Different
I feel the same way, Anne - perhaps made worse by the fact that I am an immigrant from the land of Wordsworth, which is now a Socialist basket-case, even with a "Conservative" government.
America, indeed, has been fundamentally transformed - not so much by Mr Obama himself, as by the electorate.
Anyway, this week I am in Spain - another Socialist basket-case that Mr Obama wishes to emulate!
Edited on November 24, 2012 at 7:41pmApr '11
Re: This Thanksgiving Felt Different
I have a friend who is similarly affected by the election. She wrote that 'we really have our work cut out for us'. I responded:
My work is to maintain a broad historical perspective. My work is to form associations with like-minded people . . not because I think we can affect the culture, but for succor . . . and . . on good days, happy sharings of the good things that still surround us. A spin through a Manet exhibit . . . a walk through an autumn woods . . . a pup to scratch behind the ears . . .conversation over a bottle of fine wine . . a crescent moon around which orbits an instrument with which my kid teases snippets of knowledge from the universe. Knowledge, learning, happy associations, helping others at an individual level . . these have to be enough. As for actively pursuing positive effects . . I've added Hillsdale to my 'worthy charity' list.
Dec '10
Re: This Thanksgiving Felt Different
Also from Wordsworth: All that we behold is full of blessings.
You want to know one of the (admittedly odd) reasons I'm hopeful? Because I was one of those eager to get on Doc Optimist's (Paul Rahe's) bus. I believed, with most of my heart and at least half of my brain (apparently tied (helplessly) behind my back), that Mitt Romney would win this election. That he didn't is proof of my complete inability to predict the future. I should have seen it coming? Yeah, well, I didn't.
I also thought the EU would have folded by now and have no earthly idea why it staggers on. I thought Israel would have to engage Iran prior to Obama's first inauguration. See? I stunk up the place with that prediction as well. Can America stagger on under the European social democratic model, and satisfy its debtors with copious amounts of freshly printed funny-money? Who the hell knows?
Precisely nothing in the world changed on November 6. The world is still passing away as it was the moment after the forbidden fruit was eaten. Christ's victory is still won. No change.
Jun '10
Re: This Thanksgiving Felt Different
Those who understand the import of the election results will be better prepared to handle the consequences than those who remain ignorant. Decisions of this magnitude also produce moral and intellectual clarity for those willing to accept the reality. Every personal decision we make from now on carries with it increased gravity because the days of leisure and abundance without effort are drawing to a close. Perhaps I'm the only one that finds the situation liberating, but I've found a new sense of purpose. For this I am grateful.
Jun '10
Re: This Thanksgiving Felt Different
Trink: I have a friend who is similarly affected by the election. She wrote that 'we really have our work cut out for us'. I responded:
My work is to maintain a broad historical perspective. My work is to form associations with like-minded people . . not because I think we can affect the culture, but for succor . . . and . . on good days, happy sharings of the good things that still surround us. A spin through a Manet exhibit . . . a walk through an autumn woods . . . a pup to scratch behind the ears . . .conversation over a bottle of fine wine . . a crescent moon around which orbits an instrument with which my kid teases snippets of knowledge from the universe. Knowledge, learning, happy associations, helping others at an individual level . . these have to be enough. As for actively pursuing positive effects . . I've added Hillsdale to my 'worthy charity' list. · 10 minutes ago
Yes, life has become suddenly sharper and more savory now that we can no longer take things for granted. Another blessing, I'd say.
Re: This Thanksgiving Felt Different
David Williamson: I feel the same way, Anne - perhaps made worse by the fact that I am an immigrant from the land of Wordsworth, which is now a Socialist basket-case, even with a "Conservative" government.
America, indeed, has been fundamentally transformed - not so much by Mr Obama himself, as by the electorate.
Anyway, this week I am in Spain - another Socialist basket-case that Mr Obama wishes to emulate! · 30 minutes ago
Edited 29 minutes ago
I know. I think the story of immigrants adds particular poignancy to our current story. My father's side claims to stem from the Mayflower, while my English grandmother left close family and friends to join the American boy she'd fallen in love with. From the vantage point of either period, America today is unrecognizable. I particularly feel for those who escaped from places like North Korea or Cambodia, or the Soviet Union, only to find it fashionable here to accept those places, and to embrace socialist/statist ideas.
Re: This Thanksgiving Felt Different
Paules,
I like what you say here, but I've always been a rebel (a liberal one once), and rebelliousness gets tiring after awhile.
Jul '11
Re: This Thanksgiving Felt Different
The disease of progressivism has not run its course yet. We have a great opportunity to study it for eradication techniques. As far as happiness, I bought a new home defense shotgun yesterday. That makes me smile.
May '11
Re: This Thanksgiving Felt Different
Pick your battles, Anne, pick your battles. The war is not within your grasp.
Re: This Thanksgiving Felt Different
Please explain.
May '12
Re: This Thanksgiving Felt Different
I have found myself much less thankful this year. You are not alone.
May '11
Re: This Thanksgiving Felt Different
Anne R. Pierce
Please explain. · 1 minute ago
If you have to explain a joke or what you thought was a profound comment on Ricochet, it probably wasn't a very good joke or comment.
I like to make make outrageous, over the top statements, that sound good to me. Talking like a warrior is silly within any context outside of real war.
Because I feel like the war is already lost, I choose to pick a few battles I might win.
Re: This Thanksgiving Felt Different
Southern Pessimist
Anne R. Pierce
Please explain. · 1 minute ago
If you have to explain a joke or what you thought was a profound comment on Ricochet, it probably wasn't a very good joke or comment.
I like to make make outrageous, over the top statements, that sound good to me. Talking like a warrior is silly within any context outside of real war.
Because I feel like the war is already lost, I choose to pick a few battles I might win. · 2 minutes ago
Na - It was a good comment and advice I should take!
Jun '11
Re: This Thanksgiving Felt Different
I, too, have felt greatly discouraged. I live surrounded by progressives. Most of my girlfriends are very liberal. So while there was much rejoicing in my neighborhood, and on my facebook page the night of the election, I only felt despair.
I emailed my husband, who is in the military and is elsewhere, and said the ignorance of my liberal friends for what their policies will result in is astounding. I told him the only viable way to change things is through Classical Education. Of course, this is my opinion, education is the key to changing our culture, classical education specifically. My husband points out that the Left holds an iron grip on education. Why is that? Of course we know.
I was inspired and encouraged when reading the post about America Needs a Renaissance. I often feel powerless, a small island, surrounded by a sea of progressives. I am determined to do something ...not just to resist by keeping my children out of the system. I want to provide an alternative that will restore traditional values and raise the bar for learning. So, I contacted Hillsdale and am at the beginning stages of forming a Classical Education Charter school.
Re: This Thanksgiving Felt Different
Chelly Bouferrache: I, too, have felt greatly discouraged. I live surrounded by progressives. Most of my girlfriends are very liberal. So while there was much rejoicing in my neighborhood, and on my facebook page the night of the election, I only felt despair. ....
My husband points out that the Left holds an iron grip on education. ....
I was inspired and encouraged when reading the post about America Needs a Renaissance. I often feel powerless, a small island, surrounded by a sea of progressives. I am determined to do something ...not just to resist by keeping my children out of the system. I want to provide an alternative that will restore traditional values and raise the bar for learning. So, I contacted Hillsdale and am at the beginning stages of forming a Classical Education Charter school. · 0 minutes ago
This is so great, and I love the name: Classical Education Charter School. It will appeal to parents who see that this is precisely what their children's schools do not provide: a classical education. With Ricochetti reading about this, it wouldn't surprise me if there were many Classical Education Charter Schools within a few years.
Jun '11
Re: This Thanksgiving Felt Different
Maybe others will follow suit. Anyone on Ricochet thinking about Classical Education Charter schools as a way to fight back or take a stand? Let me know if you are out there...
Oct '12
Re: This Thanksgiving Felt Different
Chelly Bouferrache: ...
I was inspired and encouraged when reading the post about America Needs a Renaissance. I often feel powerless, a small island, surrounded by a sea of progressives. I am determined to do something ...not just to resist by keeping my children out of the system. I want to provide an alternative that will restore traditional values and raise the bar for learning. So, I contacted Hillsdale and am at the beginning stages of forming a Classical Education Charter school. · 21 minutes ago
I, too, have been discouraged, but this is encouraging!
Jul '11
Re: This Thanksgiving Felt Different
Southern Pessimist, I thought you were quite reserved in general ;)