The 1621 Project: Why Thanksgiving is the quintessential American holiday – Washington Examiner

Today, the country celebrates the 400th anniversary of the first Thanksgiving holiday. Families will unite, perhaps for the first time in over a year, gather around the dinner table, and eat turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and pie. As this has long been a yearly custom in the country, it is also important to pay mind to the origins of the holiday.

Initially celebrated in November 1621, the Wampanoag tribe and the Pilgrims celebrated the first successful autumn harvest. Unbeknownst to the attendees at the time, they set the foundation for creating a new society.

The Pilgrims landing on Plymouth Rock in 1620 is one of the most pivotal moments in Western civilization. Their joint celebration with the Wampanoag in 1621 embarked them on a new project. This 1621 Project would lay the foundations for the future generations of America. Similar to the way the autumn harvest yielded an abundance of food for a celebration, the seeds planted by our Thanksgiving forefathers would bloom into a new way of thinking, acting, and governing. From the rigors of the harsh conditions of New England winters, the fruits of the labor of the 1621 Project would bear what would become perhaps the greatest harvest in the world: the United States of America.

From the humble beginnings through a clash of civilizations to the birth of a constitutional republic, the 1621 Project would change the course of humanity. It yielded a new world, a new country, and a freer kind of government. It has been a long, tough journey. It hasn't been a perfect evolution from the time of the Pilgrims and Wampanoag and there are plenty of blemishes throughout. However, what humanity often got wrong throughout its existence, the U.S. has fought to get right.

Today, many try to tear this country down by vilifying its past. They target its history and denounce it under the misnomer as a society of oppression. These enemies of freedom lambaste this country for failing to live up to the impossible standards of a nirvana that only exists in their ideologically corrupted minds. All too often, they emphasize our sins while ignoring our successes. Today, many of them even denounce the celebration of Thanksgiving as an act of racial oppression. Their objective is for the complete dissolution of all the progress made since the Pilgrims and Wampanoag tribe joined together. They want to create a form of government that we have spent centuries trying to escape from.

Today, there are many who wish to tear this government down. These people wish to eradicate our culture and customs. They attack Thanksgiving in a coordinated effort to delegitimize and discredit our history. A house divided cannot stand, and instigating internal strife is the ultimate objective for such people. Instead, we must remember the spirit of the Pilgrims and Wampanoag and come together, united, to preserve our liberties and freedoms. The U.S. may have its fair share of sins that led to many people inexplicably suffering. Yet, it is the 1621 Project that bore the fruit that resulted in a society that looked to correct all of humanitys wrongs.

The first Thanksgiving occurred 400 years ago. We are still bearing the fruits of the labor of the Pilgrims and Wampanoag. They did not realize what they were cooking that November day, but it resulted in an entre that would revolutionize the world. It is why we should honor those from the first Thanksgiving. It is the quintessential American holiday.

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The 1621 Project: Why Thanksgiving is the quintessential American holiday - Washington Examiner