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It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.
Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities English novelist (1812 - 1870)
Is The “Worst Of Times” Right Now, In 2008? The human race has gone through endless sieges of difficult times. Our current USA and global economies are suffering as we enter the 10th year of our new century. Financial institutions are toppling, people are losing their homes, and many do not have enough to eat, even in the USA. But ARE these the hardest of times?
This Ebook and the video with it, show without a doubt that indeed, each “section” of our time span on planet earth has held extremely difficult scenarios. Thanksgiving in 1951, right here on American soil, was hard for many families. Sixty years in passing has not done a whole lot to change the fact that Figure 4 - "Hearty Thanksgiving Greetings." This vintage postcard depicts a lovely girl in red shirt, blue skirt, and blue plaid apron. Her bonnet is white with a blue rosette. She seems to be talking to a large gobbler.
we don’t always “get” what we think we deserve out of life. Times change, but truly, times don’t change all that much!
What everything boils down to is a mindset. A belief system. And a knowledge that “this too, shall pass.” When one learns the deep benefits for being thankful in all situations, it literally can turn your world around!
(Shotlist: Overview Of The Movie)
[Educational Screen, Oct 1951] This film relates the experiences of a middle-class American family when they are stimulated to review the things for which they are thankful.
The Family Cannot Afford A Turkey For The Holiday
Bill Johnson, a garage mechanic, comes home from work on the day before Thanksgiving to find his children completely disheartened by their mother’s announcement that the family cannot afford a turkey for the holiday.
Shocked at his son Dick’s statement that there won’t be much to be thankful for, Bill gently reminds him and the other children that while turkey on Thanksgiving is a great American tradition, its presence sometimes obscures the real meaning of Thanksgiving.
Making A List - The Things They Feel Deeply
When Dick concedes that modern Americans are a lot better off than the Pilgrims, the others suggest that they all make a list of the things for which they are thankful. Their father cautions them to give serious thought to their list, which should include only the things they feel deeply. He then watches them mulling over their thoughts as they play during the evening.
The Belief That Family Unity Can Become World-Wide Unity At the Thanksgiving dinner table, each member of the family offers part of the thanks.
Tommy is thankful for plenty of food and free library books to read. Susan mentions clothing, Sunday school, and her family.
Dick gives thanks for a chance to get an education and a chance to play. Bill thinks as he looks at Baby Janet that she must be thankful in her own way for fun in the bathtub, playtime, and security.
Mrs. Johnson is thankful that her children can grow up healthy and strong, that she can guide them, that her family can have many of the modern conveniences, that she can have freedom of speech, and that Mr. Johnson’s job brings peace of mind.
Figure 5 - Just as in 1951, today we pray or meditate on world affairs. The wise choose an attitude of gratitude. Bill Johnson then finishes the list with the things for which he is thankful: a home with privacy, freedom from fear of political reprisal, the right to pick a vocation in which he is happy, freedom of opinion as represented by his newspaper, the right to vote, and the belief that family unity can become world-wide unity.
[Ken Smith notes --] The Johnson family -- Mother, Dick, Susan, Tommy and “baby Janet” -- are eagerly anticipating their Thanksgiving dinner when Dad (“Bill”) comes home with some bad news -- no turkey! “We’ve had a lot of expenses this month,” he explains, but the kids still want their giblets and drumsticks (“Even the pilgrims had a feast!” they whine).
Dad suggests that they spend some time “toting up the common, everyday blessings we all have to be thankful for,” and thus we find ourselves at the Johnson family dinner table, listening in on their Thanksgiving dinner prayers (with a heavenly choir “ahh”-ing and “umm”-ing in the background). Dick reflects that he likes being in a country “where school books are studied -- not burned”
Mother is grateful for “hot water out of the tap” Tommy gushes, “If I didn’t live in a country where there was plenty to go around -- goll-leee!”
Dad is simply thankful that when someone knocks on his front door, “it’s not going to be some political gangster come to drag us off to jail because we believe in freedom!”
Figure 6 - As in 1951, we are concerned for... and thankful for... our homes.
Things Weren’t Going So Well For The Free World In 1951 Centron really pulled out all the McCarthyesque stops for this film -- things weren’t going so well for the Free World in 1951, so perhaps it’s understandable. Dad: “For all these things, we are truly and humbly thankful. Amen.” Heavenly Choir: “Ahhhhhh-mennnnnnnn!”
In the midst of the Cold War, a family who cannot afford a Thanksgiving turkey instead counts its blessings. What they discover -- that what’s on the dinner table isn’t as important as the freedom under which we eat it -- is at once a cop to Cold War mentality and a rejection of rampant consumerism, Fifties-style.
