Is America Really So Far From Our Foundation?

The holiday wars have begun and basically now, the war on traditional holidays is coming from the more religious rather than the secular, which is an interesting turn of events.  Just like reformed smokers, the very people who once insisted we realize "Jesus is the Reason for the Season" are now informing the world that Christmas is pagan!  Personally, I like the difference in people this time of year.  With the exception and exclusion of Black Friday, regardless of what someone is celebrating, there is a more charitable spirit in general.  I don't have a Christmas tree, I didn't bake a turkey, and Hanukkah is nearly over, but to see the food pantry at the store filled to overflowing, even with sacks from other stores, it's nice . . . If remembering to feed the hungry this time of year from our own heart, rather than state taxes, it does seem Scriptural.

I'm not into the materialistic consumerism that abounds, but in this economy should anyone be?  Now, back to the discussion of the founding of America.  The Thanksgiving revision has been awesome this year!  So, I'll simply share from what I learned in school, nearly a half century ago, and whether or not that was accurate, I'm not inclined to embrace brand new history with digital data sources, as that is open to change at a whim or be no longer available tomorrow.

We learned that the first Thanksgiving involved the Native Americans [back when we were called Indians] having a feast that lasted several days and sharing that feast with weary Pilgrims who had barely survived the trip across the sea.  We learned they all got along great and one of the main dishes of the feast was popcorn!  We also learned that Indians taught the white men to plant corn using fish guts for fertilizer and pole beans near by to be supported by the corn stalks.  Okay, maybe the one about pole beans by the corn, I learned at home and shared for "Share and Tell."  At any rate, by the time I was in fourth grade and learned that General Washington referred to the Indians as savages, the American culture had certainly taken on a new complexion.

Thanksgiving became a national holiday, the people who had assisted the early settlers were now savages, and the land grab was on!   So, something for nothing without gratitude, is not exactly a 20th century welfare concept at all.

Let's discuss the history of Big Ag.  The men of renown with large land holdings, did not work their land, they owned slaves.  As a matter of fact, the end of slavery really brought us into the industrial revolution, as many land owners realized they didn't want to pick their own cotton!  Basically, the people who settled this nation, a.k.a. took it, didn't work it, then brought in more people to work it . . . Seems job outsourcing is not a new concept either.

As for the building of the rail road, we learned Chinese immigrants did that.  We also learned that the Irish immigrants were not considered in the same social status as immigrants and descendants of other European countries, so they got the less desirable jobs.  As I listen to the immigration debates, I can't help be ponder the fact that immigrants only take the jobs the citizens don't want to do anyway.

So I ask, is America really so far from the foundation, after all?
. . . every man did that which was right in his own eyes.  history in Holy Scripture