Thanksgiving Dinner Family Debate: Liberals vs. Conservatives

National Ledger ^ | 11-23-05 | Chris Davis - Commentary

[smoothsailing]

Thanksgiving Dinner Family Debate: Liberals vs. Conservatives

By Chris Davis

Nov 23, 2005

Thanksgiving is here!  Many people are preparing for that feast of turkey, dressing and pumpkin pie.  Some are packing clothes and making plans for their flight or drive.  Others, though, are spending time with friends and family, recalling the fond memories of better days during their childhoods.

But most conservatives, however, are gearing up for that once a year visit from their liberal Uncle Phil or Aunt Sally.  Amidst the conversation, they'll be forced—through dirty looks from their spouses or a gentle hand placed on the knee—to ignore the claims of the illegitimate war in Iraq and on terror.  They will grit their teeth when their liberal relative drifts down memory lane and proclaims that Franklin D. Roosevelt was the greatest President of the United States.

They'll choke down peas, dressing and turkey as they hear the same old refrains about how everything wrong in America is Bush's fault.  They'll have that extra glass of wine when their liberal counterparts start spouting about how Roosevelt would've saved America as he did with the New Deal.  They'll be subjected to endless tales of wastelands and soup lines, and how, in FDR's infinite wisdom, he brought prosperity to the country.

And when conservatives have stomached enough, they'll remind their liberal relatives how in the first year of the New Deal, Roosevelt proposed spending $10 billion while revenues were only $3 billion, and how, between 1933 and 1936, government expenditures rose by more than 83 percent as federal debt skyrocketed by 73 percent.  

They'll remind their relatives about how Roosevelt created the first entitlement in 1935 with Social Security, and how he strangled a free market economy with a minimum wage law in 1938, hurting the very people he was proposing to help: the poor, the unskilled and minorities, by putting them out of work.  They'll attempt to explain how Roosevelt raised income taxes on corporate dividends, and they'll also remind their relatives why, if F.D.R. was such a great president, it took him so long to bring the country out of depression.

And in their Thanksgiving struggle, conservatives will fail to convince their relatives, because in their relatives' minds, FDR's honor will not be impugned.  He was far too great a president and is not to be besmirched on this day of Thanksgiving, a day when there are millions of needy poor in America.  They'll have another glass of wine as their beloved liberal lectures them on Bush spending more money on Iraq children than American children.  They'll keep harmony until their relatives have gone home and they return to their jobs.

They'll go to work and drive America like they always do.  They'll perform at their very best while their liberal coworkers complain about how their greedy boss is sticking it to them and how he or she isn't paying them enough.  They'll advance up the corporate ladder, and get job after job done while their liberal coworkers are worrying about a flu pandemic.

Conservatives, in their indefatigable diligence, will keep the American economy moving, advocating for more of their own money and less government intrusion.  They'll turn on their radios, log on the internet and call their favorite talk show hosts in support of America's finest that are deployed across the globe.

They'll support the war on terror, remembering the words of Patrick Henry, "If we wish to be free, if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending, if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained we must fight!"

And when the Democrats start calling for a withdrawal of troops in Iraq, conservatives will remember the words of President George Washington, "Let us therefore animate and encourage each other, and show the world that a free man, contending for his liberty on his own ground, is superior to any slavish mercenary on earth."

They'll advocate for the Nativity scene as America nears Christmas.  They'll suffer through liberal indignation when a Christmas tree goes up in the middle of town.  They'll tell their children about Santa, never forgetting about the real meaning of Christmas: the birth of Jesus Christ.  

When liberals are having temper tantrums about the separation of church and state, conservatives will remember the words of John Adams, "We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."

Most of all, conservatives will remember the words of Daniel Webster, "God grants liberty only to those who love it, and are always ready to guard and defend it."

It is conservatives that I am thankful for on this Thanksgiving Day, November 24, 2005, these men and women that love liberty, the men and women that use the Constitution as a guide, never forgetting its principles in their daily lives, and holding their senators and congressmen's feet to the fire.

These conservatives come in all races, colors, creeds and worship different religions.  They are, at their very essence, the heart of America.  They perform their duties with unabashed vigor.  They represent the best America has to offer and keep coming back for more.  They come from all walks of life, and hold patriotism sacred.  They are never what the mainstream media covers, but are what America is and what it should always strive to be.  They personify every notion the Founding Fathers had for America.

They are represented by men like Rush Limbaugh—a man that execute liberal lies with impunity, brandishing an army of 20 million listeners.  They are also represented by men like Tom DeLay—a congressman fighting tyranny in the Travis County District Attorney's office, and by Congressman Mike Pence, trying to cut pork in a bloated budget.  

They are exemplified by women like Ann Coulter—an author that destroys liberal lies with her brand of conservative truth.  They are molded in men like David Limbaugh, fighting against the liberal persecution of Christianity, and in men like Tim Marvin, a business genius that only longs to return to the concepts of America's core: conservatism.  They are best represented in the new media by Free Republic, a forum dedicated to ending socialism and tyranny's grasp on America.

On this Thanksgiving Day, I am truly thankful for all the conservative men and women that make a difference in America.  They should be saluted for wishing to return to the concepts of the Founding Fathers.  They should be respected and admired for admonishing liberals at every turn in the road.

And they should be thanked for fighting the good fight, a fight to return to our American roots.

................................

Chris Davis is the author of Elective Decisions and In Defense of Liberty, two political thrillers from the Whiskey Creek Press.

© Copyright by NationalLedger.com

[jveritas]

It was a great Thanksgiving, and I hope you had a great one as well.

I agree with you that Sheehan with her super human intellect and incredible charisma is going to turn the tide against us :) ( extreme sarcasm of course) :)

[writer33]

Had a great Thanksgiving.

And you're right. Sheehan is a force to be reckoned with. :) Even thicker sarcasm.

[writer33]

You used to be on my ping list, ping!

Hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving, LK.

[writer33]

Hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving ping!

[LiteKeeper]

I did - thank you. It was the first time in 15 years that our son was home for Thanksgiving!!!

[writer33]

It sounded like a good Thanksgiving then.

[rdb3]

I hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving, rdb3. It's because of people like you that I am truly thanksful.

Who, me? ;-)

Thank you, Chris. I hope yours was wonderful as well.

I indeed had a very happy turkey day. Not the generic kind, mind you. This last half of 2005 has left me with tons to be thankful about. And you can best believe I'm thankful.

I got to meet and hold the newest edition to our family for Thanksgiving. My nephew's son was born the night I was in that accident, 21 July. I'm extremely thankful for that.

MS was diagnosed the next month after the accident. mhking, cyborg, and Petronski can tell you that I really believed that I was looking at the end. But the LORD thought it better for me to remain on this level. How could I not loudly thank Him for that?

The wreck was my hurricane, the MS and tumor were my tsunami. But I'm still here, praise His Name.

You keep on doing what you're doing, Chris. More people appreciate what you do than you know. Believe that.

[writer33]

Thank you for those wonderful comments, rdb3. It sounds like you had a great Thanksgiving. Keep up the great work. We need you.

[cyborg]

Times like these I'm glad I stayed on FR.

[Petronski]

How could I not loudly thank Him for that?

Sing a joyful song unto the Lord!

Sometimes, downright boisterous. ;O)

[rdb3]

Sing a joyful song unto the Lord!

Yes, sir. For He is Worthy.

[mhking]

Thanksgiving was wonderful for me also -- I got to meet my niece for the first time. She's a few months older than my oldest daughter. She (who lives in Ohio) and her father (who lives in Virginia) are getting to know each other, and he brought her to my in-laws for the weekend.

I got to show off my cooking prowess in the process (I fixed macaroni & cheese and yellow turnips -- though I guess most folks know 'em as rutabagas; my mom's and dad's recipes, respectively). I'm still learning, but everyone loved the food...

Plenty of good times, lots of football, and a nice post-dinner nap...

[writer33]

Last test on the ping list after reassembling it. If I incorrectly put you on the ping list, feel free to let me know and I'll remove you. Here it is for better or better.

:)

[Diva Betsy Ross]

I like this one Chris. I know- I know- I always say that. Can I be on your ping list twice? That way I get to see you more. :]

[Brad’s Gramma]

I'm so proud of you I could cry.

[Calpernia]

Sheesh. And I thought you were inviting us to turkey leftovers.

Can never have enough turkey leftovers :)

[luvie]

testing....testing.....yep, here I am. I'm in!

[Calpernia]

click the pic!

"Light's Please"
Luke 2:8-14And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them; and they were sore afraid.
And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and Saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

click!

click the pic!

"Light's Please"
Luke 2:8-14And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them; and they were sore afraid.
And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and Saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

click!

[perfect stranger]

set...mark...flip...stripe

[MEG33]

Thank you!