Month: March 2020

Tradition of Judeo-Christian Values(Jerusalem)

The Judeo-Christian tradition believes that a good God created an ordered universe and that this God demands moral behavior from His paramount creation, man.  Judeo-Christian religion posits that there are certain fundamental truths handed down to us by a transcendent being. We didn’t invent these truths; we received them from God through revelation.  The rules He lays down for us are vital for building a functioning, moral civilization and for leading a happy life.

Judeo-Christian tradition also teaches that every human is created in the image of God; that is, each individual’s life is infinitely valuable.  The far more natural belief is that the strong should subjugate the weak. Only by recognizing the divine in others did we ever move beyond this amoral thinking toward the concern for human rights, democracy and free enterprise that characterize the West.

Tradition of Ancient Hellenic Civilization (Athen)

Ancient Greek philosophy provides the roots for the Western intellectual tradition.  Its natural law tradition affirms not only a formal logical order in the world but an inherent purposefulness in all things.  Men, are not mere creatures of physical nature. By the exercise of reason, they can grasp the formal truth in objects and understand the structure of the universe.  The tradition has an explicit preference for the life of reason and rational thought, whether it is used to find truth or order.

Another important aspect of Greek heritage is the political principle of democracy. Democracy comes from two Greek words.  Demo is Greek for” people”, and kratein is Greek for “to rule”.     Solon, father of Athenian democracy, introduced reforms caused democracy to exist as a system of government.  He extended his dictatorial power to the wealthy and the aristocrats. He also gave political power to the poor by allowing them to join the general assembly. 

Tradition of Republican Liberty, Roman Virtue (Rome)

Virtue, or virtus in Latin is a term used to describe the ideal actions and qualities of a Roman.  The significant importance of virtus to Roman cultural identity is emphasized by Cicero, “Cling fast to (virtus), I beg you men of Rome, it is a heritage that your ancestors bequeathed you. All else is false and doubtful, ephemeral and changeful; only virtus stands firmly fixed, its roots run deep, it can never be shaken by any violence, never moved from its place.” For the Romans, the virtues acted as a means of social and moral direction, thereby to prevent or correct moral and ethical offenses. It also acted as a tool for self-reflection and a guide towards productive community participation.   Roman virtues such as justice, sense of responsibility, resolve, industriousness, truthfulness, gratitude, self-discipline, courage, modesty, reliability, piety are part of moral tradition in Western civilization.
http://romanrepublic.org/wip/virtues.pdf

Roman liberty and the republic were born together in the ouster of the kings in 510BC. In The Republic, Cicero argued that laws were not enough for a just state. There also must be liberty. “But if liberty is not equally enjoyed by all the citizens,” he declared, “it is not liberty at all.” Therefore, liberty cannot exist unless “the people have the supreme power” in government.

Cicero believed the Roman Republic, with its consuls (co-kings), Senate (aristocrats), and democratic assemblies (commoners), was the ideal form of government by an equal balancing and blending of monarchy, democracy, and aristocracy.  In this “mixed state,” Cicero argued, royalty, the best men, and the common people all have a role.

https://www.crf-usa.org/bill-of-rights-in-action/bria-23-3-b-cicero-defender-of-the-roman-republic

Tradition of Medieval England and Scotland

The principle of rule of law and due process and the tradition of constitutional government can find their roots in Magna Carta, the Great Charter drawn up on June 15, 1215  between King John and his feudal barons. Written in Latin, it was effectively the first written constitution in European history. It served to lay the foundation for the evolution of constitutional government and subsequent declarations of rights in Great Britain.   It stated that the king could continue to rule but must keep to the established laws and customs of the land. It was the first written document compelling an English king to act according to the rule of law. It promised the protection of church rights, protection for the barons from illegal imprisonment, access to swift justice, and limitations on feudal payments to the Crown. 
https://fedsoc.org/commentary/videos/what-is-magna-carta-no-86

From Medieval England and Scotland, we also inherit the institution of higher learning, the universities. Oxford and Cambridge have their origins near the end of the 12th century and the beginning of the 13th century.  The three Scottish universities, St. Andrew, Glasgow, and Aberdeen were all founded in the 15th century. These institutions give us a rich tradition by means of ordering and integrating of knowledge. Their motto reflect the guiding principles of this noble tradition.

Oxford–the Lord is my Light 

Cambridge— From here, light and sacred draughts 

St Andrew–Ever to Excel

Aberdeen–The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom

 Glasgow–the Way, the Truth, the Life

These are the traditions with their principles and ideas that we want to conserve.  Conservatives are not apologists for ”Western hegemony and oppression”. We only want to  preserve the necessary ingredients for a just, free and prosperous society.

What is Western Civilization? | Victor Davis Hanson  

“Thanksgiving should be replaced by a national day of atonement as an indication of moral progress in the United States”.    In some universities, students are taught how to decolonize Thanksgiving during the Thanksgiving Holiday.

https://www.thecollegefix.com/universities-teach-students-how-to-decolonize-their-thanksgiving/

The objection to Thanksgiving is based on the belief that it celebrates Western imperialism and gives justification to racism and material exploitation of the non-Western world by the rich Western countries.  George Washington University history professor David Silverman in his book This Land Is Their Land: The Wampanoag Indians, Plymouth Colony, and the Troubled History of Thanksgiving explains the reasoning behind treating Thanksgiving as a day of mourning.  He said ,“The National Day of Mourning calls attention to the fact that white America’s triumphs have been borne on native peoples’ backs.” This is the prevalent view among many contemporary historians, some of whom have published history textbooks used widely in high schools and universities.   

 Is it true that Thanksgiving Day celebrates white America’s triumphs?  I am not a historian, but a quick Google search tells me something different.  Three events are associated with the institution of Thanksgiving Day. The 1621 Harvest Festival, when pilgrims and native Americans gathered together to celebrate a successful harvest, is certainly the most widely known event associated with Thanksgiving.  However, it was President George Washington who marked the first national Thanksgiving Day when he issued the Thanksgiving Proclamation to the Governors of the States, calling for the “institution of a national day of prayer and thanksgiving”.

https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/thanksgiving/

Subsequent presidents failed to maintain this tradition. It was not until  President Abraham Lincoln issued his 1863 Thanksgiving Proclamation that Thanksgiving was set as the last Thursday of November. (FDR moved it to the third Thursday of November in 1939)

http://www.abrahamlinconline.org/lincoln/speeches/thanks.htm

Each of these events came on  the heels of much human suffering.  Out of the 102 passengers on board the Mayflower, only 53  survived due to the harsh journey and cold winter of New England.  So the first event was more about survival than triumph. Like many harvest festivals, it was an occasion to thank God for his providence.  

Washington’s Thanksgiving Proclamation was issued 6 years after the conclusion of the Revolutionary War.  Throughout the course of the war an estimated 6,800 Americans were killed in action, 6,100 wounded, and upwards of 20,000 were taken prisoner. Historians believe that at least an additional 17,000 deaths were the result of disease.  The motivation behind the Proclamation was to give people an opportunity to “ acknowledge with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.”  

Lincoln’s Thanksgiving Proclamation was issued 3 months after the Battle of Gettysburg, which was the bloodiest battle of the Civil War  with 51,000 casualties during the 3-day battle. The Battle was also the turning point of the War. Robert Lee’s plan to invade the North and force an immediate end to the war failed.  No major Confederate invasions into the North would be mounted after that point. The Proclamation was to remind  the American people “the gracious gifts of the Most High God in the midst of a civil war of unequalled magnitude and severity” and to supplicate God for peace, healing and unity.

This is the history of Thanksgiving Day.  It is about giving thanks to God for his mercy, providence, blessings and protection to the people of the United States of America.  The tradition of Thanksgiving Day is a way to instill the virtue of humility and gratitude in the hearts of people.  President Washington and President Lincoln called on Americans to exercise humility by acknowledging there is a higher authority.  C.S. Lewis says in his Screwtape Letters, ”By this virtue[humility], as by all others, God wants to turn our attention away from self, to him and to neighbors.”   The virtue of gratitude, according to Cicero, is the parent of all other virtues. In Pro Planico, Cicero cites the specific virtues arising from the positive feeling of gratitude: showing affection for one’s parents, reverence, appreciation of friends, acts of kindness, and so forth. Humans are not born with virtues; they must be trained and civilized. In The Abolition of Man, CS Lewis says, “Without the aid of trained emotions the intellect is powerless against the animal organism”. 

Another crucial factor to a civilized social order is unity.  From the Boomers to Gen Z, we have four generations of people who have experienced relatively peaceful conditions.  Many assume that peace and harmony is the default. However, strifles and wars have been the norm throughout human history. Social practices like Thanksgiving Day that cultivate common experience serve to advance peace and order.  

Yes, Thanksgiving is about turkey and green bean casserole and mouth watering  pies, but it is more than that. It brings families, friends and even strangers together. It reminds us to be humble and grateful even though we are prideful and ungrateful by nature.  It is an invaluable inheritance and it is our duty to defend and pass it down to the posterity.  

Tradition remains alive only when we struggle with it.

Edmund Burke