I’m not the biggest fan of the current unilateral position that the U.S.government took with the current Iraq war which I would like to add was based on a lie. Nor am I comfy with the idea that after our invasion of Afghanistan, poppy seed production (heroine) is up, but there are couple of other things that we still need to be aware of:

• Many troops come back with PTSD, and however you feel about the merits of any war, these troops are inserted back into the general population with very little help. Fortunately there are many more organizations stepping up to help troops with PTSD.
• Too many people are infected with blind patriotism and have absolutely no idea of the financial destruction (domestic and invaded country), loss of life, psychological breakdown for troops and their respective families, and the level of social polarization/mistrust that is spawned when jingoistic mania meets xenophobia on a international stage.
• War is hell and should be avoided at all cost. Understanding the historic context of the hows, whys, and what’s of brewing conflicts is critical. This means that the American citizenry need to spend way more time in the library and reading up on the history of U.S. foreign policy than empty anecdotes like “We Support the Troops” and spreading McCarthyesque rhetoric towards those who pause to intelligently interrogate the “true” motives behind U.S. military strikes around the globe.

This past weekend I watched HBO Documentary War Torn 1861-2010. You can find more information here.

I would encourage everyone to watch this. This post was inspired by the documentary War Torn and Aaaron Sorkins insightful piece Bumber-Sticker Patriotism is No Way to Honor Veterans

Look at the nice Puritans feeding the Native Americans. Of course, this is exactly how it happened.

I decided to do something a little different this year and gave a speech to my family and friends on the realities of thanksgiving (after the feast of course). I also read an article by John Burrows from CWIS. The link for the full history of events leading up to thankgiving as well as a description of the REAL Thanksgiving is below my speech. Read below:

—-start TG commentary—

My purpose today was not to taint the mood or bring a damper to the nature of thanksgiving, but to explain thanksgiving and put it in an accurate light. What I ask of you today, is not to completely remove thanks giving from your world, but to understand what you are celebrating which is a period of time that represents one of the largest and most bloodiest genocides in America’s history. I always wondered why I never saw Indians participate in Thanks giving.

You see million dollar parades, no Indians, no commercials of different tribes celebrating or honoring thanksgiving, which led me to dig out the history of this day. We have this day that is supposed to celebrate the giving that occurred between the Pilgrims and the Indians, yet no Indians seem to be included into the celebration of this day. How strange? Should we celebrate Happy Auschwitz-Birkenau Day? For those who are not familiar with the Auschwitz-Birkenau Germany, it was the area where the largest numbers of European Jews were killed during the Holocaust as mass gassing took place, using Zyklon-B in the death camps. How would the Jews respond to something so slanderous? Could we all move forward with such a day if the Jews and Germans had a brief moment in history where they were civil amongst each other, which I’m sure occurred before the elitist and racist campaign of Adolf Hitler? Should we celebrate Happy Atlantic Slave Traders Day, because the Europeans who first met the Africans in Africa had a business relationship when they met? There was a moment when Africans sold a small number of Africans to Europeans and these slaves were mostly used for domestic purposes by Africans. Would we encourage such a day because what started out as a small business relationship led to millions of Africans being enslaved, slaughtered, raped, and killed for 400 years, while systematically stripping these same Africans of their culture and religion?

I understand that today serves as moment for families to spend time with each other, but we cannot allow this level of misinformation to continue as we take for granted the Native Americans who have been pillaged and plundered into extinction. This is a wrong that needs to be corrected. Keep in mind that Thanks giving stands for “giving” to those who do not have as the Indians did when they fed and taught the Puritans how to survive and live off the land when they were almost dead. Thanks giving should be a time that we give to the less fortunate as well as individuals that are on the fringes of our society. How thanks giving became a time that families get together to partake in a gluttonous and celebratory routine of consuming massive amounts of food during a period of time where the Native Americans had their land stolen and then were killed during that process is quite remarkable. I wish you well on this day, and I hope this moment has served you as a turning point in your understanding of this day. Thank you for being patient and listening to my speech.

—-end TG commentary—