Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:
On 22 Nov 2006 10:13:32 -0800, "Chuck Gould"
wrote:

Thomas Jefferson refused to declare a day of Thanksgiving at all.

Contrary to popular belief, Jefferson was a Communist way ahead of his
time. :)

Now, now. Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin are two of my favorite
characters from that era. Jefferson was more of a progressive free
thinker, and not so much really a communist.Franklin had a brilliant
mind and a gift for diplomacy. The common thread that most of our
Founders shared is that most were active Masons, and back when it was
taken more seriously than most people have done for the last century or
so Masonry was exceptionally radical. Our dollar bill, the Great Seal
of the United States, even the street grid of Washington DC are all
slathered with Masonic symbolism. Interesting to note that
of the small minority of Colonists who actively revolted against the
Crown in the 1700's, (the vast majority were apathetic and some were
loyalists) a staggering percentage of the daring and free thinking
leaders were Masons.

Jefferson always struggled with his spirituality. He even rewrote the
Bible. I think he was torn between his critical mind failing to see any
evidence of God and his intuitive sense that Man was unlikely to be the
most profound entity in the cosmos. It would have been like Jefferson
not to declare a day of Thanksgiving because it was very important to
him to keep
church and state separate. After all, if you're going to give thanks,
there's at least an implication that you are thanking a diety.
Jefferson would have been appalled at the notion of an official,
government designated day for an activity with such obvious religious
overtones.