#1083 – Dick Bernard: Let Us All Make A Happy Thanksgiving.
Antoine Leiris’ powerful message to the terrorists who killed his wife in Paris, November 13, 2015. As of this morning over 50,000,000 views on Facebook: here
Thursday, at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis, the November 2015 Program Notes included this Thanksgiving Essay by Dan Chouinard. It is presented here as both pdf ( Dan Chouinard002) and jpeg (below).
(click all photos to enlarge)
A friend sent this cartoon later Thursday:
Overnight came a capsule of news about the hysteria about Syrian immigrants engulfing the United States, fanned by political rhetoric; and too dangerous for the American media to touch; and too dangerous for we Americans to not confront in as many ways as we can.
In between, a day-filled with American sights which do not fit, at all, the above pictures: flags flying at half-staff to remember the victims of the carnage in France; messages going back and forth to people in other places; lots of silence among people not knowing what to say, if anything.
Still, today, one week after 11-13-15 in Paris, reminds me far too much of one week after 9-11-01 in the United States, a reactive time, manipulating us towards what seems to be never-ending war. I think of that long ago Crisis Sequence sheet someone handed out at a workshop 40 or so years ago, which I still refer to. It fits….
We are said to be a friendly country. I saw many examples of that, just yesterday, and will again, today.
We are a friendly country.
But this isn’t the political and media ‘talk of the town’ this day, one week after Paris 11-13-15. We come across as angry, belligerent, scared to death…..
Who are we, really, we Americans? Those of us who aren’t among the fear and hate-filled – the overwhelming vast majority of us – need to speak out; to give support.
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Years ago, with family, I visited the Statue of Liberty in New York City. Enroute there, a drive-by of the not yet open Twin Towers on Manhattan.
It was the end of June, 1972.
What has happened to us as a country since 9-11-2001?
Or have we not been honest with ourselves about who we really are, deep down?

Twin Towers from Statue of Liberty, late June, 1972. (one tower was newly opened, the other nearly completed)
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