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Thanksgiving Dinner Family Debate: Liberals vs. Conservatives
National Ledger ^ | 11-23-05 | Chris Davis - Commentary

Posted on 11/23/2005 9:37:58 AM PST by 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


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; News/Current Events; Philosophy
KEYWORDS: chrisdavis; gobblegobble; mdm; thanksgiving
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To: Lady Jag

[Loud laughing]

with alfafa sprouts. :-)


61 posted on 11/23/2005 10:12:39 AM PST by saveliberty (Conservativism - the commitment to live within your own means and to take care of yourself & family)
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To: TheForceOfOne

Amen!


62 posted on 11/23/2005 10:12:44 AM PST by MEG33 (GOD BLESS OUR ARMED FORCES)
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To: Howlin; All
Thanks for the ping
Happy Thanksgiving to you
63 posted on 11/23/2005 10:12:47 AM PST by firewalk
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To: smoothsailing

64 posted on 11/23/2005 10:13:50 AM PST by petercooper (I was misled. I actually voted for the war, before I could use 20/20 hindsight to vote against it.)
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To: smoothsailing
I always like to give liberals this quote from a US President

The lessons of history, confirmed by the evidence immediately before me, show conclusively that continued dependence upon relief induces a spiritual and moral disintegration fundamentally destructive to the national fibre. To dole out relief in this way is to administer a narcotic, a subtle destroyer of the human spirit. It is inimical to the dictates of sound policy. It is in violation of the traditions of America.

Of course, usually they assume that it was Reagan who made that quote.

Imagine their shock when I point out that quote came from FDR's 1935 State of the Union address.

65 posted on 11/23/2005 10:13:57 AM PST by dfwgator
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To: smoothsailing

It's too late for Thanksgiving, but I think I'll order a Turducken for Christmas and see what John Madden has been talking about all these years.


66 posted on 11/23/2005 10:15:02 AM PST by Steve_Seattle
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To: smoothsailing

It's myself, my husband, and my cousin who are the only conservatives in a family of liberals. Usually we discuss issues, but it's strictly surface level.


67 posted on 11/23/2005 10:15:03 AM PST by arizonarachel ("Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men," Col 3:23)
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To: smoothsailing

Bravo! Well written. Happy Thanksgiving all!


68 posted on 11/23/2005 10:15:19 AM PST by golas1964 ("He tasks me... He tasks me, and I shall have him!")
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To: smoothsailing

A nice sentiment, for sure, but when they stoutly refuse to listen, it doesn't work. It's only one-way for them, from their mouth to your ears (just like college prof's). I've given up on my poor Mom and Pop; Walter Cronkite did them in real good and I just can't imagine using the cattle prod.


69 posted on 11/23/2005 10:15:32 AM PST by polymuser (I wish the Republicans had a majority in Congress.)
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To: petercooper

The Aunt I spoke of above is a true worsiping believing Catholic. I have no idea how she reconciles her votes with the death camp. I admit plenty of good people were dupped by Carter back in 76 ( i was only 10) but that is forgivable. To continue to vote for the Party of Death is beyond even rational thought.


70 posted on 11/23/2005 10:15:53 AM PST by alisasny
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To: saveliberty
This is the box:


And this is what it really looks like:


Looks like cottage cheese and Stove Top.
Tastes worse

71 posted on 11/23/2005 10:16:18 AM PST by Lady Jag (Honor - Dignity - Courage - Troll Consumption)
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To: JFC

((((((((((JVC))))))))) Nor do I..We are a fortunate bunch!

Happy Thanksgiving to you and all the family.


72 posted on 11/23/2005 10:16:20 AM PST by MEG33 (GOD BLESS OUR ARMED FORCES)
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To: JFC
I don't have any liberal family members... YEAH!

Good news: I am in the same boat...no libs in my family.

Bad news: I am going to my in-laws for Thanksgiving...the sacrifices a man makes for his wife...

73 posted on 11/23/2005 10:16:41 AM PST by who knows what evil? (New England...the Sodom and Gomorrah of the 21st Century, and they're proud of it!)
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To: dfwgator

Bump!


74 posted on 11/23/2005 10:18:01 AM PST by MEG33 (GOD BLESS OUR ARMED FORCES)
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To: Peach

:-) Relax. She has universal right of way disorder. She can't help it. The wronger she is, the louder she is.

A person like that responds to fights. She won't know how to respond to humor -- she won't be expecting it. Or else a softer disagreement

I am sure I told this story before but I worked with a big liberal lesbian femocrat. She and I were and are friends, but I don't take her Bush bashing or conservative bashing personally. She was railing on and on about something and finally I turned to her and said quietly, "you know, it is very tiresome to hear only one side all of the time."

She stopped and apologized.


75 posted on 11/23/2005 10:18:14 AM PST by saveliberty (Conservativism - the commitment to live within your own means and to take care of yourself & family)
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To: smoothsailing

The only liberal in my family is my bro-in-law. He knows better than to bring up politics amongst my conservatie family.


76 posted on 11/23/2005 10:18:47 AM PST by SoDak (Happy Thanksgiving!)
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To: smoothsailing

i prefer my thanksgiving political debates, conservative v ultra-conservative, with a single moderate conservative thrown in for spice.


77 posted on 11/23/2005 10:19:12 AM PST by absolootezer0 ("My God, why have you forsaken us.. no wait, its the liberals that have forsaken you... my bad")
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To: polymuser
"I've given up on my poor Mom and Pop;"

My dad died last year, and he was always the one who tried to bait me into political arguments at family gatherings. My sister and brother in law are libs, but they aren't in-your-face about it, and we can be civil. Plus, Thanksgiving is always at their house, so I have to be good.
78 posted on 11/23/2005 10:19:27 AM PST by Steve_Seattle
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To: Steve_Seattle

Yikes! Make sure that you have your cell phone and medical card with you at all times.


79 posted on 11/23/2005 10:19:31 AM PST by saveliberty (Conservativism - the commitment to live within your own means and to take care of yourself & family)
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To: Lady Jag

ROFLMAO!


80 posted on 11/23/2005 10:20:00 AM PST by saveliberty (Conservativism - the commitment to live within your own means and to take care of yourself & family)
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