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

[saveliberty]

:-) And there's eggnog, when that fails. The best recipe I have ever tasted is slightly melted french vanilla icecream with brandy.

[Howlin]

Here's some Thanksgiving Dinner ammunition.

And something to be thankful for!

Happy Thanksgiving, friends.

[saveliberty]

LOL!

[stuartcr]

Thankfully, no one at our table talks about religion or politics.

[stuartcr]

That's probably what they think also.

[girlangler]

Yep, I'm printing out a copy of this to give to my Uncle Jack, who will be at one of the Thanksgiving dinners I'll be attending.

And once again, I'll remind him how his brother (my Daddy) was a Democrat who voted twice for Ronald Reagan :)

[tfecw]

"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."

Had this conversation with my grandparents last night actually. Things get interesting dealing with idiot liberals when you are on your 6th cigarette free day.

[expat_panama]

And a happy thanksgiving to you too. 

We're having a lot of people over for dinner tomorrow, and I was concerned about how so many will be liberals.  What I plan to do is to remind people that we're all supposed to talk about how thankful we are and that if if anyone wants to complain or snipe at the President then they're all welcome to come back for Festivus.  

Festivus is when we'll have the airing of grievances, followed by feats of strength.  I was thinking of using the aluminum pole to demonstrate the strength of my arguments on the lib's brains.

[Hildy]

Since this year it's just me, Hubby, Mom AND maybe the guy next door, and ex-LAPD motorcyle cop, I don't think I'll have anything to worry about!!!

[savedbygrace]

Conservative 'cup is half full' article!

And the Liberal cup is a crock.

[alisasny]

For all intents Gore should have won that election. It truly was his to win.

Kerry never had a chance and most liberals will agree that he is by far the worst candidate the Dems have ever run. They still voted for him but they did so knowing he was unelectable.

[Christian4Bush]

bump

[Cyber Liberty]

Do people really talk about that kind of stuff at the dinner table?

Yup. Liberals can't help themselves from showing their a$$es at inappropriate times.

[Calusa]

Glory, Glory! Hallelujah! And I'll raise you an Amen.I'm the only conservative in a family of liberals. I have a very nice custom dental bite plate.

[Cyber Liberty]

Thanks! I enjoyed the read. It is interesting to note that, as the grown-ups at the table, conservatives are the ones who usually just stop talking in order to maintain the peace.

[Peach]

Can't I put just a tad of arsenic in her egnogg? Puh-leeeze??

[TheForceOfOne]

Thank you and Happy Thanksgiving!

God Bless our soldiers and their families for their sacrifice to protect our freedom and make this day possible. Wishing all our soldiers a safe return home to your families and friends who miss you and worry every day.

We cannot even begin to thank you properly without understating the importance of what you have done for us and all those who now taste the sweetness of freedom denied to them by the likes of Saddam and his ilk.

We are extremely proud of you and thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Happy Thanksgiving to our Armed Forces.

[alisasny]

I have had people come into my home for holiday dinners and insult my AMERICANA decor to my face. I just could not imagine doing that as a guest in someones home. I do forgive as they are either old or ignorant or both or just stupid. One Aunt is blind as a bat but recalls my decor from years ago when she could see so I expect to here an insult again from her.

I also get silently peeved when a liberal calls us who like President Bush, YOU PEOPLE or THOSE PEOPLE.... my husband never hesitates to say US PEOPLE were over 50 percent : ))) Usually shuts them up right away.

[Finny]

Perhaps it's time to remember a line from the excellent BBC film drama from the book, "Piece of Cake," about the brave Spitfire pilots of WWII:

"Never talk politics in the mess!

[petercooper]

Toss in some alcohol and it could get ugly.