Lincoln gave us Thanksgiving as an opportunity to come together. we owe him an effort

When we think of Thanksgiving, we tend to think of the Pilgrims of 1621. The boxy black shoes had shiny square buckles and were used for feasting with the Indians. But in reality, this important national holiday began centuries later, during the greatest conflict in history involving the United States. American state.

In early October 1863, President Abraham Lincoln, who had just won a costly but ultimately decisive victory in the Civil War's Battle of Gettysburg, announced that he would “dedicate the last Thursday of next November as a special day of Thanksgiving.'' and to protect it.” “To be fair, that randomness sounds a little like Geroge Washington, played by Nate Bergatze on Saturday Night Live.

But amazingly, even with the sound of the cannon still hot and in the face of two more years of brutal destruction and loss, Lincoln was already thinking about how to reunite the country.

Maher urges Americans to 'don't let politics prolong the holiday'; don't 'cut people' to win Trump

In the declaration, he called for the intervention of the Almighty's hand to heal the wounds of the nation and restore it as soon as possible in accordance with God's purpose so that it may enjoy peace, harmony, tranquility and union to the fullest. I fervently request that you do so.”

Peace, harmony, tranquility and unity. How much these things have been missing from our society over the past decade? And while we have never fought against screaming hot lead, we have made each other into strangers, by words and deeds. I did.

Some prominent television personalities, like MSNBC's Joy Reid, are urging viewers to cut ties with family and friends who voted for Donald Trump. Meanwhile, the right too often accuses the left of having a virus in their minds, of being not only wrong, but somehow fundamentally broken.

But if Lincoln could envision a future where people in blue and gray could sit and eat together in peace, despite the depravity committed by both sides in the Civil War, surely we can too. You should be able to do it.

Perhaps it is fitting that this holiday, born out of sibling rivalry, should serve as a symbolic front in our political struggle, so to speak. We've developed the cliche of MAGA-loving uncles and wine-mom cousins ​​screaming at each other about immigration over their irritated grandma's stuffing.

And it's precisely because Americans cherish Thanksgiving so much that we treat it like this, as if to say things are so bad that they're even ruining Thanksgiving. They use it as an avatar in a rhetorical way.

During my travels during the campaign, I asked many people I met if their relationships with family and friends were strained by politics. Many, if not most, answered yes, to varying degrees.

“Sometimes you have to block people on Facebook,” some of them told me. “I try to avoid politics, but this isn't just politics, it's who we are,” the Republican woman said. Meanwhile, I have forced Democrats to argue that President Trump's supposed danger is a moral issue, not a political issue.

Well, some news and a little perspective. No matter how much you hate President-elect Donald Trump or the woke left, it's nothing compared to the searing hatred felt for Lincoln south of the Mason-Dixon Line during the Civil War and in the years that followed. .

A depiction of early settlers of Plymouth Colony sharing a harvest thanksgiving meal with members of the local Wampanoag tribe at Plymouth Plantation in Plymouth, Massachusetts, 1621. (Frederick Lewis/Archive Photo/Getty Images)

But today, it is Lincoln who stands alone in the halls of American greatness, untainted by slavery and the founding's petty flaws, and who is therefore proud of the true American national holiday of Thanksgiving. What he has given us is just and right.

For more FOX News opinions, click here

A move that signals that after last year's harsh and punitive election, many Americans are ready to recover from their hostility, mend fences, and return to treating their fellow citizens as human beings rather than members of a political organization. .

Thanksgiving is the perfect time to begin a journey to restore peace, harmony, tranquility, and unity.

If we could all just have one phone call, text, or sit down in front of the fire with that one family member we disagree with, that would be the civility and integrity we have lost. It may be a big step towards getting back to normal.

And it's precisely because Americans cherish Thanksgiving so much that we treat it like this, as if to say things are so bad that they're even ruining Thanksgiving. They use it as an avatar in a rhetorical way.

Lincoln opened this door for us 161 years ago. Since then, this holiday has remained more firmly in our hearts than any other, even if he is less appreciated.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Let's forgive even more this year, put an end to all the recent anger and bitterness, and let it be the beginning of a new and generous phase of American political life.

Abraham Lincoln would have had no choice but to sacrifice everything for us.

Click here to read more about David Marcus