#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?