Thanksgiving 2022
For years, people know the overt truth about Thanksgiving. In the United States of America, Thanksgiving is a national holiday that takes place on a Thursday in late November. The concept of thanksgiving has existed in religions and ceremonies spanning centuries and thousands of years. There is absolutely nothing wrong with giving thanks to God about living on this Earth, eating food that has been blessed, and going out to do almsgiving to help out the suffering. We live in a unique time in human history with both the expansion of advanced technology and more political polarization too (including the mass of election deniers losing the 2022 midterm elections proving that democracy is strong in the world). During this 21st century, we have profound opportunities to learn and to grow in being better human beings. On Thanksgiving, tons of people witness parades, parties, sports games (like American football games being played worldwide), and other forms of celebrations. Also, we know that everything in the world is not right. In America alone, more than 1 million people have passed away from the coronavirus pandemic (and now virus cases have declined in America after a long time). We have Proud Boys and Oath Keepers members being on trial for their role in the terrorist insurrection of January 6th, 2021. Mass shootings are commonplace in America in Charlottesville, Virginia, Colorado Springs, Colorado, and Chesapeake, Virginia recently (yesterday). Also, there is a massive issue of global warming where even parts of the Mississippi river have dried up with drought being around a massive part of America. Record high temperatures are commonplace worldwide.
It is transparently clear that the January 6th committee has shown more than enough conclusive evidence that Donald Trump, Oath Keepers, and other far-right extremists worked in an overt conspiracy to try to overthrow the legal 2020 Presidential election. There have been stories of Oath Keepers having links with some Secret Service members during the Trump Presidency. Stewart Rhodes is on trial for his treason against America. The Department of Justice should not only issue subpoenas but charge Donald Trump in a criminal case. The hearings show that Trump made a plan to try to overthrow the election before the election of November 2020 was finished. Trump knew that he lost the election as said by Cassidy Hutchinson in her sworn testimony. Trump knew that his allegations of election fraud were false when he wanted Georgia political leaders to manipulate the results when Georgia was won by Joseph Biden in 2020. Trump has been subpoenaed. The panel has less than 3 months to finish its work. The January 6th committee did a great job in exposing how Donald Trump and his reactionary allies tried to overthrow and end American democracy as we know it. We have every God-given right to defend, preserve, and strengthen our democratic institutions. Accountability towards those who harmed the U.S. Capitol and violated democratic freedom must be enacted. Over the course of many months, there is a higher chance of Attorney General Merrick Garland will charge Trump with conspiracy to defraud the United States and obstruction of Congress (which are 2 federal crimes).
We have economic problems in America. This problem existed long before President Joe Biden was President. Some believe in the myth that laissez-faire capitalism is the only solution to lower inflation, reduce interest rates, and increase the credit necessary to grow the American economy. The truth is the opposite in that massive monopoly power, laissez-faire capitalism, and economic oppression contributed to the economic problems in American society in the first place. One example of this monopoly power is that if Kroger merges with Albertsons, it will control Safeway, Ralphs, Smith's, Harris Teeter, Dillons, Fred Meyer, Vons, Jewel-Osco, and Shaw's. This advances oligarchy. Corporations and the super-wealthy, who believe that tax breaks for them will trickle down to everyone else, are outlining fiction. We have to disagree with extremists who want to massively cut Social Security and Medicare that people worked for. Some good news is that starting on January 2023, Social Security's monthly benefits will go up by over $140 a month. That increase will help millions of retirees, people with disabilities, veterans, widows, children, and other people who need food, medicine, and housing.
Now, Thanksgiving which is an American holiday has a long history. Among the thousands of years of human history, many people in the four corners of the Earth celebrated family friends, food, justice, compassion, and the spiritual qualities of togetherness. This is not new. We realize that in 1541, Spanish explorers had their feast on American soil. In 1607, English colonists at Fort St. George assembled for a harvest feast and prayer meeting with the Abenaki Native Americans of Maine. The Thanksgiving that many people talk about involves the New England's Thanksgiving among European settlers and Native Americans during the year of 1621 in the area of Massachusetts. One major part of this history was the Mayflower Compact. To start, we have to look at the time period back then. In America, back then, Native Americans mostly were the inhabitants of the Americas. They had their own languages, creeds, and beautiful complex, diverse culture. For example, the Mayan culture had advanced cities and calendar systems. Large Mound cultures of early America existed too in North America. In Europe, it was a different story. Europe was dominated mostly by religious groups and monarchical rule by the 17th century. Many people in Europe couldn't worship as they please, and many lacked political rights. The dominant religious institution in Europe back then (during the early 17th century) was the Vatican. This was about more than 100 years after the Reformation. The Vatican so exploited indulgences and committed other errors that the Reformation happened. The Vatican institution is wrong to claim that the Pope is the Holy Father, to believe in purgatory, to believe in the Inquisition (until the Vatican apologized for it), and to enact other forms of corruption.
Erasmus tried to make reforms in the Roman Catholic Church. Erasmus was a great religious scholar and a prominent intellectual. Martin Luther made his 95 Theses to protest the Roman Catholic Church's policies. The Roman Catholic Church refused to change, and the Reformation existed by 1517. The Vatican created the Counter-Reformation (with support from the Jesuits too) to counteract the influence of the Protestant Reformation. Major wars among Protestants and Catholics existed well into the 1600's and beyond in places like Ireland. Obviously, we can agree to disagree on religious matters without being violently disagreeable as religious freedom including the separation of church and state are hallmarks of a progressive society. The fruit of the Jesuit-inspired Counter-Reformation is the Ecumenical Movement (which is promoted by the leaders of the Vatican and some Protestant movements to develop a compromise on theological matters explicitly). Even some Protestants were wrong to persecute Baptists and Anabaptists centuries ago (because the Baptists and Anabaptists rejected infant baptism. Infant baptism has no basis in scripture or logic as an infant can't make a conscious decision to join a church or religious organization).
The Thanksgiving story deals with 2 groups of the Pilgrims and the Puritans. It is always important to establish the distinction between the Pilgrims and the Puritans. The Pilgrims came to America first, and the Puritans (who were mostly middle class and sought to reform the Church of England) came to America second. The Pilgrims were very much Separatists, working class, and some were very poor. They wanted to leave the Church of England totally. They formed the Mayflower Compact in 1621 to establish their own religious and political views. They wanted a more democratic model of governance for their adherents. They were in conflict with the English King James I. He believed in the divine right of kings heresy, which is very similar to the Pope falsely claiming divine authority over all believers of God. King James I was right to disagree with many of the doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church. King James I was right to disagree with witchcraft as he wrote literature in opposition to it. His error was that King James I made it his business to persecute Baptists and other separatists who didn't want to submit to the state church. I believe in the separation of church and state. Back then, human beings, who disagreed with state church institutions, were imprisoned or killed during the early 1600's in Europe. To disagree with a government authority back then was equivalent to treason (according to extremists). That is why many Baptists, Puritans, and other Protestant separatists left the UK and came to America. These dissidents made errors too, so that will be shown later. For now, we know that the Anglican Church was nearly identical to the Catholic Church in its ecclesiology. Also, William Schaw worked with King James VI of Scotland. William Schaw (who was accused of being a suspected Jesuit and holding anti-English views during the 1590’s. We know about the pro-Jesuits zealots involved in the evil Gunpowder terrorist plot in England against King James I and his government. The plot was led by Roman Catholic Robert Catesby) who helped to build castles and palaces.
Robert Catesby's fellow plotters were John and Christopher Wright, Robert and Thomas Wintour, Thomas Percy, Guy Fawkes, Robert Keyes, Thomas Bates, John Grant, Ambrose Rookwood, Sir Everard Digby, and Francis Tresham. Fawkes, who had 10 years of military experience fighting in the Spanish Netherlands in the failed suppression of the Dutch Revolt, was given charge of the explosives. Some claim that William Schaw was an important figure in the development of Freemasonry in Scotland (as he was involved in the First and Second Schaw statues). Early Thanksgiving ceremonies were in Virginia by 1607, in Charles City County, Virginia in 1637, and were created by the French plus the Spanish during the 16th century.
Many Puritans, Baptists, and other separatists wanted religious freedom. They realized that a king in Europe, especially in the UK, having authoritarian powers is antithetical to democratic rights. Now, many of them did the wrong thing in murdering Native Americans and enslaving innocent black Africans. I want to make that perfectly clear. The English Pilgrims was led by William Bradford. They experienced religious persecution in England (they lived in the village of Scrooby near East Retford, Nottinghamshire). By 1607, Archbishop Tobias Matthew raided homes and imprisoned several members of the congregation. The congregation left England in 1608 and emigrated to the Netherlands, settling first in Amsterdam and then in Leiden. In Leiden, the congregation gained the freedom to worship as they chose, but Dutch society was unfamiliar to them. Scrooby had been an agricultural community, whereas Leiden was a thriving industrial center, and they found the pace of life difficult. The community remained close-knit, but their children began adopting the Dutch language and customs, and some also entered the Dutch Army. They also were still not free from the persecution of the English Crown. English authorities came to Leiden to arrest William Brewster in 1618 after he published comments highly critical of the King of England and the Anglican Church. Brewster escaped arrest, but the events spurred the congregation to move farther from England. They had to pay their debt when they came to America. Using the financing secured from the Merchant Adventurers, the Colonists bought provisions and obtained passage on the Mayflower and the Speedwell. They had intended to leave early in 1620, but they were delayed several months due to difficulties in dealing with the Merchant Adventurers, including several changes in plans for the voyage and in financing. The congregation and the other colonists finally boarded the Speedwell in July 1620 in the Dutch port of Delfshaven. Many people on the Mayflower were Captain Christopher Jones, Captain Reynold, the brutish Myles Standish, Christopher Martin, and other people. The Mayflower and Speedwell ships left by August 23, 1621. The Mayflower departed Plymouth, England on September 6, 1620, with 102 passengers and about 30 crew members in the small, 106 feet (32 m) long ship. William Button died on the voyage.
They landed on November 9, 1620, off the coast of Cape Cod. Before their arrival, many Native Americans died via an epidemic of a disease called leptospirosis. This happened when earlier English settlers gave the Native American people disease before the Pilgrims came on shore in America. The Mayflower Compact was created while people were on the ship. It was signed on November 1620. The compact was about them forming their own government while showing allegiance to the Crown of England. The settlers showed allegiance to the king. It was a social contract that settlers would consent to the community's rules to survive and have order. Early on, the Pilgrims struggled to survive. Peregrine White was born being the first child born to the Pilgrims in America by Susanna White. They searched for corn to plant. As early as December 6, in their third expedition, they took the Native Americans' corn and fired upon them in the First Encounter near Eastham, Massachusetts. By December 21, 1620, a brutal winter caused the Pilgrims to suffer at Plymouth. Native Americans literally saved their lives. One such Native American was Samoset. On March 16, 1621, the Pilgrims had more contact with Native peoples. Samoset learned some English from fishermen and trappers in Maine. He said, "Welcome, Englishmen!" The Pilgrims learned of many Natives died of an epidemic. They also knew of a great leader in the region who was the Wampanoag chief Massasoit. Also, they learned about Squanto (Tisquantum) who was the sole survivor from Patuxet. Squanto had spent time in Europe and spoke English quite well. Samoset spent the night in Plymouth and agreed to arrange a meeting with some of Massasoit's men. There is the statue today of the sachem Massasoit (Ousamequin). The sachem or leader of the Wampanoag confederacy. Massasoit means Great Sachem. Squanto has a large importance in history.
Massasoit and Squanto were apprehensive about the Pilgrims, as several men of his tribe had been killed by English sailors. He also knew that the Pilgrims had taken some corn stores in their landings at Provincetown. Squanto himself had been abducted in 1614 by English explorer Thomas Hunt and had spent five years in Europe, first as a slave for a group of Spanish monks, then as a freeman in England. He had returned to New England in 1619, acting as a guide to explorer Capt. Robert Gorges, but Massasoit and his men had killed the crew of the ship and had taken Squanto. Samoset returned to Plymouth on March 22 with a delegation from Massasoit that included Squanto; Massasoit joined them shortly after, and he and Governor Carver established a formal treaty of peace after exchanging gifts. This treaty ensured that each people would not bring harm to the other, that Massasoit would send his allies to make peaceful negotiations with Plymouth, and that they would come to each other's aid in a time of war. Many Plymouth settlers died during that winter.
In November 1621, the surviving Pilgrims and some Native Americans celebrated their First Thanksgiving. The celebration involved the 53 surviving Pilgrims, along with Massasoit and 90 of his men. Three contemporaneous accounts of the event survive: Of Plymouth Plantation by William Bradford; Mourt's Relation probably written by Edward Winslow; and New England's Memorial by Plymouth Colony Secretary (and Bradford's nephew) Capt. Nathaniel Morton. The celebration lasted three days and featured a feast that included numerous types of waterfowl, wild turkeys and fish procured by the colonists, and five deer brought by the indigenous people. After the departure of Massasoit and his men, Squanto remained in Plymouth to teach the Pilgrims how to survive in New England, such as using dead fish to fertilize the soil. For the first few years of colonial life, the fur trade was the dominant source of income beyond subsistence farming. Colonists were buying furs from Natives and selling them to Europeans. Governor Carver suddenly died shortly after the Mayflower returned to England. William Bradford was elected to replace him and went on to lead the colony through much of its formative years. Many Native Americans came to Plymouth in the middle of 1621 to promise peace. On July 2, a party of Pilgrims led by Edward Winslow (who later became the chief diplomat of the colony) set out to continue negotiations with the chief. The delegation also included Squanto, who acted as a translator. After traveling for several days, they arrived at Massasoit's village of Sowams near Narragansett Bay. After meals and an exchange of gifts, Massasoit agreed to an exclusive trading pact with the Plymouth colonists. Squanto remained behind and traveled throughout the area to establish trading relations with several tribes. By July 1621, the missing boy John Billington almost ended the peace, but the peace existed for a time. The Nausets found him. The Pilgrims reimburse the corn that they unwittingly stole from them for the return of the boy.
During their dealings with the Nausets over the release of John Billington, the Pilgrims learned of the troubles that Massasoit was experiencing. Massasoit, Squanto, and several other Wampanoags had been captured by Corbitant, sachem of the Narragansett tribe. A party of ten men under the leadership of Myles Standish set out to find and execute Corbitant. While hunting for him, they learned that Squanto had escaped, and Massasoit was back in power. Standish and his men had injured several Native Americans, so the colonists offered them medical attention in Plymouth. They had failed to capture Corbitant, but the show of force by Standish had garnered respect for the Pilgrims and, as a result, nine of the most powerful sachems in the area signed a treaty in September, including Massasoit and Corbitant, pledging their loyalty to King James.
In my view, the man (including many other people) responsible for the breaking of the treaties, the ruin of tons of Native American lives, and the changing of an era was Myles Standish. He was a murderer and the breaker of the peace in the region. The settlement of Wessaguessett north of Weymouth, Massachusetts was short lived (by colonists from the ship The Sparrow in May 1622). Reports reached Plymouth of a military threat to Wessagussett, and Myles Standish organized a militia to defend them. However, he found that there had been no attack. He (i.e. Myles Standish) therefore decided on a pre-emptive strike, an event which historian Nathaniel Philbrick calls "Standish's raid." He lured two prominent Massachusett military leaders into a house at Wessagussett under the pretense of sharing a meal and making negotiations. Standish and his men then stabbed and killed them. Standish and his men pursued Obtakiest, a local sachem, but he escaped with three prisoners from Wessagussett; he then executed them. Within a short time, Wessagussett was disbanded, and the survivors were integrated into the town of Plymouth. After Standish's raid, many Native Americans fled the area, and many left their villages. The Pilgrims lost trade in furs. Standish's raid had disastrous consequences for the colony, as attested by William Bradford in a letter to the Merchant Adventurers: "we had much damaged our trade, for there where we had most skins the Indians are run away from their habitations." The closest Pilgrim ally in the region that increased their power who was the Massasoit led Wampanoag tribe. In November 1621, the Fortune ship camped to Plymouth.
Among the passengers of the Fortune were several of the original Leiden congregation, including William Brewster's son Jonathan, Edward Winslow's brother John, and Philip Delano (the family name was earlier "de la Noye") whose descendants include President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Myles Standish was the military leader of the Plymouth Colony. The Pequot War existed in 1637. The war's roots go back to 1632, when a dispute arose between Dutch fur traders and Plymouth officials over control of the Connecticut River Valley near modern Hartford, Connecticut. Representatives from the Dutch East India Company and Plymouth Colony both had deeds that claimed that they had rightfully purchased the land from the Pequots. A sort of land rush occurred as settlers from Massachusetts Bay and Plymouth colonies tried to beat the Dutch in settling the area; the influx of English settlers also threatened the Pequot. Other confederations in the area sided with the English, including the Narragansetts and Mohegans, who were the traditional enemies of the Pequots. The murder of John Oldham in 1636 was blamed on allies of the Pequots. In April 1637, a raid on a Pequot village by John Endicott led to a retaliatory raid by Pequot warriors on the town of Wethersfield, Connecticut, where some 30 English settlers were killed. This led to a further retaliation, where a raid led by Captain John Underhill and Captain John Mason burned a Pequot village to the ground near modern Mystic, Connecticut, killing hundreds of Pequots. Plymouth Colony had little to do with the actual fighting in the war.
The 1637 Massacre in Mystic caused at least 700 Native Americans to be murdered by Europeans. Men, women, and children Native Americans were burned alive, and their buildings were destroyed. William Bradford or the Governor of Plymouth praised the massacre in sick terms by the following words: “…Those that escaped the fire were slain with the sword; some hewed to pieces, others run through with their rapiers, so that they were quickly dispatched and very few escaped. It was conceived they thus destroyed about 400 at this time. It was a fearful sight to see them thus frying in the fire...horrible was the stink and scent thereof, but the victory seemed a sweet sacrifice, and they gave the prayers thereof to God, who had wrought so wonderfully for them, thus to enclose their enemies in their hands, and give them so speedy a victory over so proud and insulting an enemy."
“This day forth shall be a day of celebration and thanksgiving for subduing the Pequots," read Governor John Winthrop’s proclamation.
In 1637, Plymouth Colony Governor William Bradford described the massacre of a community of Pequot people by white settlers:
“Those that scraped the fire were [slain] with the sword; some hewed to [pieces], others [run] [through] with their rapiers, so as they were quickly [dispatched], and very few [escaped]. It was conceived they thus destroyed about 400 at this time. It was a fearful sight to see them thus frying in the [fire], and the streams of blood quenching the same, and horrible was the [stink] and [scent] thereof, but the victory seemed a [sweet] sacrifice, and they gave the prayers thereof to God, who had wrought so wonderfully for them, thus to [enclose] their [enemies] in their hands, and give them so speedy a victory over so proud and insulting an [enemy]."
You couldn’t make this stuff up. This is real and these massacres against Native Americans are totally evil plus disgusting. Later, Pequots prisoners were executed. Pequot women and children were sold into slavery in the West Indies. The Pequot War killed most of the Pequot peoples.
Then, the King's Philip's War existed.
Metacomet was the younger son of Massasoit and the heir of Massasoit's position as sachem of the Pokanoket and supreme leader of the Wampanoag. Known to the English as King Philip, he became sachem upon the sudden death of his older brother Wamsutta, also known as Alexander, in 1662. This war started with more English colonists demanding more land. King Philip didn't want more land taken by the colonists. He wanted to reverse the trend. Of specific concern was the founding of the town of Swansea, which was located only a few miles from the Wampanoag capital at Mount Hope. The General Court of Plymouth began using military force to coerce the sale of Wampanoag land to the settlers of the town. The death of the Native American John Sassamon in 1675 really started the war. Sassamon converted to Christianity. King Philip drifted from his friend Sassamon because of this reason. John was murdered. There is debate about whether King Philip's men murdered John or not. A jury convicted some Native peoples of the murder and sentenced them to death. Both sides committed atrocities against unarmed people. The Native people used guerilla warfare. Governor Winslow and Plymouth military commander Major William Bradford (son of the late Governor William Bradford) relented and gave the Church permission to organize a combined force of English and Native Americans. Later, King Philip was killed by a Pocasset Native American. The English had too many numbers, so King Philip's forces were defeated. Many Native Americans were killed, fled, or shipped as slaves. Most Native American people were exterminated by this time in New England.
The Pilgrims and the Puritans embraced Calvinistic views. John Calvin invented Calvinism. The imprisonment of Calvin, however, also took place in May 1534. It has been debated why he was imprisoned for. Many authors say that Calvin was imprisoned because of a specific "reason." John Calvin formed a theocratic state in Geneva, Switzerland where many people were executed for theological disagreements. Bernard Cottret, author of Calvin: A Biography, a favorable treatment of Calvin’s life and work, has provided accounts of the torture and execution of heretics (who denied the Trinity like Michael Servetus. I believe in the Trinity, but I don't agree with killing people who disagree with me on the Trinity) and those who were merely suspected of committing crimes in Geneva. Calvin died in 1564, apparently despised by the citizens of Geneva. Even the Bible is clear that you don't murder people if he or she disagrees with your theological views. Jesus taught to ‘turn the other cheek’ instead. None of the Apostles taught murderous action against unbelievers but instead taught the believer to seek them out and present the gospel in love. Dave Hunt wrote a book entitled, "What Love is This?" that refutes many of the doctrines of Calvinism in a compassionate, eloquent fashion. He writes the following from his book: “… my firm disagreement with Calvinism is not over God’s sovereignty, which I fully embrace and to which I submit. The issue is whether God loves all without partiality and desires all to be saved. Unquestionably, Calvinism denies such love; but the Bible, in the clearest language repeatedly declares God’s love to all and His desire that all should be saved and none should be lost.” (pp. 301, 302). JOHN CALVIN TAUGHT THE NOTORIOUS HERESY OF INFANT BAPTISM WHICH HAS NO BASIS IN THE OT AND THE NT.
I recommend his book. Calvin claimed to disagree with Catholicism, but he established his brutal empire like a "Pope" in Geneva. To this day, many undercover Calvinists would try to infiltrate Baptist churches and other churches in trying to promote their doctrines. The Bible is clear that God wants everyone to wake up. 2 Peter 3:9 mentions that, "The Lord is not slack concerning [His] promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance." John 3:16 is ever clear that: "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Also, it is important to promote religious freedom. I may disagree with certain religions, but I don't believe in stereotyping, maligning, or dehumanizing people who worship any religion (or those who embrace no religion at all). We can agree to disagree peacefully on spirituality without bigotry and without hatred of one another. We can show our diversity, and our diversity is part of our strength.
John Two-Hawks, who runs the Native Circle web site, gives a sketch of the facts:
“Thanksgiving' did not begin as a great loving relationship between the pilgrims and the Wampanoag, Pequot and Narragansett people. In fact, in October of 1621 when the pilgrim survivors of their first winter in Turtle Island sat down to share the first unofficial 'Thanksgiving' meal, the Indians who were there were not even invited! There was no turkey, squash, cranberry sauce or pumpkin pie. A few days before this alleged feast took place, a company of 'pilgrims' led by Miles Standish actively sought the head of a local Indian chief, and an 11 foot high wall was erected around the entire Plymouth settlement for the very purpose of keeping Indians out!”
Fifty-five years after the original Thanksgiving Day, the Puritans had destroyed the generous Wampanoag and all other neighboring tribes. The Wampanoag chief King Philip was beheaded. His head was stuck on a pole in Plymouth, where the skull still hung on display 24 years later. Many Puritans were complicit in the slave trade where they oppressed black African people (i.e. Puritan ship owners began a slave-trading business by raiding the coast for Native American people and trading them for black African human beings). Also, scholarship like Roxanne Dunbar Ortiz's "Indigenous People's History of the United States" is ignored in academia and popular culture. The early English colonizers and capitalists wanted to go into America to promote the myth of white spiritual supremacy and to expand their resources. Today, many Native Americans suffer various forms of oppression like diseases, homelessness, dilapidated and rat-filled housing, substance abuse, inadequate education, unemployment, and police brutality.
Likewise, we acknowledge many Native Americans standing up for justice back then and today in 2022. So, we desire true liberation. Therefore, we know the truth. Having empathy towards the indigenous people means that we can never glamorize killers and murderers like many European imperialists were. It is also important to acknowledge the food banks, activists, and other volunteers helping tons of families during this time of the year with food, clothing, love, compassion, and other resources. Their work is never in vain, and they are acknowledged by all of us here. The best way to honor the indigenous people on Thanskgiving is, to tell the truth, help the suffering, and fight for justice for all people.
The 2022 Midterms
The 2022 midterm elections were the most important midterm elections in American history. The reason is that many underestimated the far right-wing backlash so much that democracy is at stake now. Now, we know that a coward violently assaulted Nancy Pelosi's husband. Also, GOP candidates like Kari Lake either joked, mocked, or lied about the suffering of Paul Pelosi. There are many issues being talked about during this election season like the economy, social issues, health care, crime, the environment, education, immigration, and other important issues. All 435 seas of the House of Representatives and 35 of the 100 seats in the Senate were contested. 49 state and territorial gubernatorial elections including state and local elections were contested. The future 118th United States Congress will exist as a product of the 2022 United States elections. This will be the first election affected by the restricting that followed the 2020 census. We, who are African Americans, have been scapegoated by many political leaders, but both major political parties historically have not done enough to promote our interests in many cases. Yet, the contrast is clear. The Republicans are overtly clear on wanting to cut Social Security, cut Medicare, eliminate voting rights protections, harm environmental regulations, race-bait on the issue of crime, promote more tax cuts for the super-wealthy (many large corporations don't pay any income taxes), and suppress basic human rights from women and other minorities. So, the choice is clear. We must vote, and we will vote. The GOP candidates are heavily made up of far-right extremists, election denialists, and overtly racist, sexist people.
In America, everything isn't perfect. We have gas price fluctuations, higher inflation, and other economic issues. Yet, the Biden administration did pass laws that helped to cut childhood poverty in half, growing investments, and negotiate fairer drug prices for those who need medicines. The economy now is in better shape than in 2020 with the peak of the global, destructive pandemic. The unemployment rate is still less than 4 percent. Democracy is still clearly under threat. The Supreme Court has passed many reactionary decisions during the past summer. Some GOP candidates want to change the laws involving election procedures, so the GOP can gain more political power in slick ways. Also, we have hypocrites like Herschel Walker claiming to be against abortion but sources from women say that he paid them money to have abortions. Walker's opponent is Rev. Warnock. Georgia is one major epicenter of the political arena along with Democratic candidate Stacey Abrams, who ran for the Governor of Georgia. Kari Lake lost her racce for Governor of Arizona. She is so extreme that she went from supporting Barack Obama in 2008 to being a pro-Trump extremist in 2022. Arizona going for Joe Biden in 2020 angered many MAGA Republicans.
In Pennsylvania, there is the Governor candidate Shapiro trying to promote more progressive policies. Fetterman is running for the Senate. Both candidates won their respective elections. Many people in Pittsburgh have praised him as a decent man. Also, Oz lost against Fetterman. Oz, now, is trying to be a moderate, but he supports Donald Trump and believes in many extreme views. Donald Trump continues to lie in Latrobe, Pennsylvania on Saturday (in 11/5/2022) to say that the 2020 election was stolen (and Trump said that Democrats hate America which is a lie). We live in a time when security has to be placed to protect election workers nationwide.
The 2022 Midterms Election Results
A couple of weeks ago, many Trump supporters have debated me on issues. For the record, I don't agree with Trump or his agendas. That is why they target me because I'm the type that knows my stuff. I'm not a person who hasn't researched information. I believe in reparations for black Americans outright. I disagree with imperialism. I believe things have to be done to help the environment from wildfires to climate change. I certainly believe in equality in promoting the basic human rights of all people. In my life, this is not new. I will be a better human being in the future fighting for justice. We live in a time when many Trump supporters believe in the lie of election denialism instead of democratic freedom. We live in an era when Trump supporters minimized systematic racism instead of confronting it. We live in a time when Trump supporters try to justify Trump's heinous actions when the record documents his corruption, his lies, and his hatred of women (by calling many women evil names that are antithetical to the Golden Rule and common human respect).
MAGA supporters cry about free speech but many of them endorse suppressing anti-racism books in schools and libraries across America (not just in Florida and Texas). Trump supporters forget that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. believed in reparations, they omit that Malcolm X criticized capitalism in 1965 in an interview, and they omit that Queen Mother Moore supported reparations for black people too. Generation Z should have great credit for voting massively during the 2022 midterm elections. Nabeela Syed is a 23-year-old Muslim, an Indian American woman who flipped a Republican-held suburban district. She will be the youngest member of the Illinois General Assembly. We have to learn about the past, work hard in the present, and work for a better future. We want a future where human beings can live filled with resources, justice, and a sense of happiness. Therefore, I will never waver in my core convictions at all. Not to mention that Pan-African unity is important to promote. African Americans, Afro-Caribbeans, Afro-British, Africans, and all black people of the African Diaspora are part of one family despite our cultural differences.
The election results of the 2022 midterms certainly shocked people now. It wasn't as brutal to Democrats as some assume, but Florida and Texas became even more red in the Governor's race. There are many historic firsts too. Many Republican extremists lost elections because the vast majority of Americans refused to embrace far-right extremism. Pro-Donald Trump candidates did lose many elections because democracy was on the ballot. Young people, black people, other people of color, women, and other human beings were fired up to allow their voices to be heard. Young people turned out massively. In Governor's race, every election-denying candidate lost. There wasn't a red wave. The composition of the House and the Senate is clear. Democrats have won the Senate, and the Republicans have narrowly won the House. Democrat John Fetterman defeated the Trump-backed Republican Mehmet Oz. This comes as the Senate is up for grabs. In Massachusetts, Democratic state Attorney General Maura Healey is the state's first elected woman Governor. Maryland Governor West Moore will be the state's first Black Governor. Republican Sarah Huckabee Sanders is the first woman Governor of Arkansas.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/X67WMMMLV5GJNMSU7O3CPPW24Q.jpg)
Democrat Alex Padilla will be the first elected Latino senator from California. Democrat Shirley Weber will be California's first elected Black secretary of state of California. Democrat Rob Bonita will be California's first elected Filipino American attorney general. Democrat Stephanie Thomas will be the first Black woman elected Secretary of State of Connecticut. Democrat Maxwell Frost will be the first member of Congress who is from Generation Z. Democrat Delia Ramirez will be the first Latina elected to Congress from Illinois. Democrat Aruna Miller will be the first Asian American lieutenant governor of Maryland, and Anthony Brown will be the first Black person elected attorney general of Maryland. Democrat Andrea Campbell will be the first Black woman elected Attorney General of Massachusetts. Democrat Kathy Hochul won in NY in the Governor's race, and Democrat Shri Thanedar will be the first Indian American elected to Congress from Michigan. Summer Lee will be the first Black woman elected to Congress from Pennsylvania. We are very fortunate to live in a time when diversity wins out in this world. Trump's calling Nancy Pelosi an animal, cursing out peaceful protestors of police brutality and racial injustice, his racist disrespect of black women journalists for years, his calling Mitch McConnell's wife a racist slur, and Trump promoting violence have no place anywhere in the Universe period. The 2022 midterm elections were very historic, and the struggle continues. Yet, right is on our side, because the principles of equality, justice, and human liberation are concepts that we accept in our hearts.
The breaking news is that Nancy Pelosi will step down as the House Majority Leader. This comes after her husband was brutally assaulted by a coward. This comes after Nancy Pelosi leaves a legacy as being probably the greatest House Majority Speaker in American history. This represents an end of an era for the Democratic Party. Pelosi is also the only woman to serve as Speaker. She will continue to be in the House as a California lawmaker. Next year, Democrats will be the minority in the House. This comes after a better-than-expected midterm election result in 2022. House Democrats could choose New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries to succeed Pelosi. Yet, Democrats won't vote until November 30, 2022. A lot of people underestimate Nancy Pelosi's accomplishments. The reasons are that she is more progressive, and she is a woman (Let's keep it real here). Nancy Pelosi had a big role in the development of the Affordable Care Act, the Infrastructure law, the Inflation Reduction Act, and other laws that have helped and will help millions of Americans.
Many megadonors won't support Trump anymore. Some want to support Ron DeSantis. I always mentioned watching DeSantis. DeSantis is a xenophobe and an extremist. We all know that. Yet, DeSantis is like Donald Trump 2.0 being a slicker version of Donald Trump. He caused many in Florida to vote for him, and we can't underestimate DeSantis. 2024 will be an interesting year. Still, Trump will not go away from the political sphere. Mike Pence said that there will be better GOP choices than Trump in 2024. Obviously, Pence was nearly lynched by the pro-Trump terrorist mob during the January 6th insurrection (a date that will live in infamy for all time). Kevin McCarthy dodges the question of whether he will support Trump's new Presidential campaign. As for Nancy Pelosi, she deserves massive credit for causing tons of legislation to pass, unifying the Democratic Party, and helping to maintain power despite circumstances.
President of Brazil Lula made an ambitious deforestation pledge. This comes as Brazil's rainforest is nearing a point of irreversible decline. The Amazon rainforest is one of the most vitally important ecosystems on planet Earth. Some like Luis Guedes Pinto want to use a project to improve Brazil's biodiversity, grow forests, and nurse the Earth's forests back to health. Pinto is the CEO of SOS Mata Atlantica. Pinto wants to rehabilitate swaths of forest lands on the Brazilian Atlantic coast. The forest houses more than 145 million Brazilians. The Amazon rainforest has been damaged by deforestation for years. Three-quarters of the area has been wiped out by urban and infrastructure development plus by aggressive agribusiness practices. Mitch McConnell maintains his power in the Senate after being challenged by some Republicans. It is obvious that most voters oppose Trump's views and McConnell has a tense relationship with Trump.
The breaking news is that Donald Trump has announced that he is running for President again in 2022. 2022 is the start of the Presidential race. In less than 2 years, either President Biden will win re-election, or a new President will exist. These are the 2 options. Trump is typical with his large list of lies and hyperbole in his campaign announcement at his Florida home. This campaign of 2024 will be different. More Republicans blame him for the losses found during the 2022 midterm elections. Also, demographic changes will exist more by 2024 with younger registered voters from Generation Z. The Democrats have to use a better ground game in Florida and Texas to make things more competitive. Like always, 2024 is an eternity in political time. Many things can happen. Yet, the principles of truth remain the same regardless of what year we live in. 2024 will be an exciting time to live in, and we have the responsibility to vote Trump out of office again as we did in 2020.
I certainly voted on Tuesday. It was a cool morning in the 50's when I voted. For all of the serious issues in the world, I came out to vote for real issues. We have extremists who want to discount legal mail-in ballots. You have Trump calling Pelosi an "animal" in an offensive way. You have Kari Lake claiming to be a Christian but calling people names if they disagree with her (showing her hypocrisy). Millions have voted on Election Day 2022. I voted for democracy, real solutions, and justice for all. The control of Congress is at stake. The future makeup of the United States Congress is fully here now. The 2022 midterm elections are the most consequential elections in our lifetimes. The contentious campaigns are over now. A new chapter starts in the history of our nation of the United States of America. The 2024 Presidential election starts now too. We don't know what the total future will hold for America. Yet, we have to stand up against fascism and be for democracy.
By Timothy
No comments:
Post a Comment