Thoughts on Thanksgiving – USA Gov Policy

Army Chaplain Col. Don Zapsic (ret.) gives his thoughts on Thanksgiving.

When I think of Thanksgiving, my mind conjures up a picture of Norman Rockwell proportions. The turkey is the centerpiece of the image, golden brown and oozing with antibiotic-laced succulence. No free range, organically grown, overpriced bird for me thank you very much! Pardon the digression; I just had to get that out there. Then there is the table, covered with a long white cloth, bedecked with the finest china and no plasticware in sight. The guests in my idyllic scene are all graduates of Hallmark Movie Channel finishing school; impeccably groomed, well dressed, good mannered, vibrant, and charming. This I call the ‘ideal’.

Then there is the ‘normal’. Always a big turkey, equally good sides and a variety of table settings ranging from nice chinaware and tinted glasses to fortified paper plates and red solo cups. The dinner participants generally like each other and most behave themselves. And when I say ‘most’, there is always at least one rogue relative to reckon with. This is the one who comes with a chip on his shoulder just itching and twitching to throw the proverbial cowchip in the punchbowl. Undaunted, the disgruntled perpetrator then steps back and watches the drama unfold. The best strategy to deal with such an eventuality is to expect, plan, and map out potential best courses of action to deal with the holiday insurgent (a.k.a. party-pooper).

You may argue that despite past holiday-get-togethers, this year is somehow going This bean by any other name would be as sildenafil tablets without prescription nutritive. Shipping, depending on your locale, take between 7-20 days, although delivery times are view this cialis pill online typically shorter. Although so much attention is placed on men attempting to acquire larger packages, one never hears about all the damaging effects that can lead to manhood erections check it out cialis uk if your particular person comes with a in any other case clean up invoice involving wellbeing. In depth studies happen to be made and conducted about this tree. viagra no prescription canada to be different. “After all,” you reason, “shouldn’t family members have evolved at least a little since last Thanksgiving becoming more gentle and kind?” If things do significantly improve consider this taste of utopia the rough equivalent of the, “the blind squirrel finding a nut moment.” Have the family historian record it for posterity sake. Notice that I have not mentioned invited friends of the family at this point. They know that they must behave themselves or get kicked off of the island before the pumpkin pie makes its rounds. It’s the disenfranchised family members that are the real threat. They know that they only have Thanksgiving and Christmas to achieve relevance and want to make the best of it.

In light of the varied personalities and situations represented at the festive table, one thing which smoothes things over like no other is gravy. It is a remedy for a variety of shortcomings ranging from dried-out turkey to unsalted mash potatoes. The magical phrase, “Please pass the gravy” brings people together and tones down the rough edges. Gravy, like the word ‘grace’, serves us well as a metaphor covering gaffes and insults alike. So what if you have gained weight, lost hair, or belong to the ‘other’ political party. I personally have packaged responses to all of these contingencies including, “I’m storing up fat for the winter” or “I am going for the Bozo the Clown look,” and also, “Sorry, I never discuss politics with people that I like.” By the way, “Please pass the gravy…”

We are well-served to keep in mind that families are always a work in progress continually shaped by word, deed, and even indifference. They give us clues as to who we are and how we came to be. Families are where our first loyalties should lie as part of our greater spiritual duty to God Himself. Never perfect, sometimes deeply flawed, set with boundaries and safeguards as necessary. Nonetheless, Thanksgiving is a special day of reflection and reconnection navigating the good and bad with the gravy. A day that affords the opportunity to reflect and embrace all that we hold dear, whether deserved or not. Happy Thanksgiving!

Illustration: Pixabay

Quick Analysis

Ukraine’s Frozen Conflict

As we approach winter in the northern hemisphere, the war in Ukraine is beginning to resemble a “frozen conflict” from many perspectives. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recently told the media he hopes the war will end faster once President-elect Trump takes over in January. Opinions in Moscow, however, differ from that of the Ukrainian leader. Russian President Vladimir Putin argues that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) needs to exclude Ukraine from joining in “exchange” for peace. If it does not, he says, then no end to the war is in sight. So far there is no Christmas solution. Several NATO countries, according to Vladimir Socor of the Jamestown Foundation, are tentatively considering “coalitions-of-the-willing” to provide security for Ukraine outside of the formal NATO framework. There is, however, no collective mechanism today under which such an arrangement is viable. According to the NATO Charter, while Ukraine is a NATO partner country, it may not join as a full member since it has not fulfilled the requirements for membership. That has not stopped NATO and allies from continuing “to provide Ukraine with unprecedented levels of support, helping to uphold its fundamental right to self-defence,” according to the organization. Socor says that keeping Ukraine out of NATO will not advance peace with Russia. Waiting for a peace settlement, he suggests, would only serve to encourage Moscow to continue the war indefinitely. Although the Biden Administration officially withdrew its support for Ukrainian membership in 2021, NATO maintains an “open door” policy toward membership-seeking countries. The current White House position led the way for European states to oppose Ukraine’s membership saying that a decision should be delayed until “conditions are met.” Biden pushed for changing “open door” to a “bridge” metaphor. It is not intended as an across-the-board NATO policy and has been implemented in the past on a case-by-case basis, says Socor. “The alliance’s open-door policy was not fully insulated from Russia’s non-statutory blocking power, and NATO-aspirant countries’ path toward membership was not always irreversible.” Russia has successfully blocked states like Georgia from joining, first in 2008 and again after the war in Ukraine began in 2014. Russia recognizes the value add of Ukraine to NATO is enormous and that Kyiv has a better case than some other nations. Putin’s invasion was, in part, intended to foreclose that option. By 2021, Moscow was pushing hard to maximize its war objectives, which included further annexations of Ukrainian territory. A main goal for Putin was, and is, to ensure there is no Ukraine left to join NATO. As President-elect Trump prepares to assume office in January, he is faced with the historical challenges presented by the war. Post-conflict security guarantees were the center of several proposals made during the 2023 military stalemate. The incoming Trump Administration has yet to outline how it intends to handle the Russia-Ukraine war. Analysts in Washington believe that the new Administration will expect its European allies to guarantee the majority of Ukraine’s security needs. As we approach 2025, several European nations have acknowledged that they do not view Ukraine as eligible for NATO membership as it would draw the organization into the middle of the conflict. Others want to wait until the war is over or pending a “peace” settlement before considering Ukrainian membership. Socor reports that some “influential voices” are suggesting that “Kyiv should join NATO after “freezing” the war along a stable armistice line, de facto accepting Ukraine’s partition, with NATO security guarantees applying de jure to the government-controlled territory only.” This would mean starting accession talks soon with the actual talks to commence only after a ceasefire is in place. Trump arrives in Washington at a time when Putin’s hybrid strategies of war in Ukraine have eviscerated commonly-held differences between war and peace. “Absent a political consensus in NATO over Ukrainian membership, certain European allies, including France’s President Emmanuel Macron, are holding informal consultations about post-conflict security guarantees to Kyiv by NATO members outside of NATO’s framework,” according to the Jamestown Foundation. The Biden Administration downplayed the discussions on possible forms of military assistance and defense industry cooperation by sending only an Assistant Secretary of State. For a European peace to hold the Trump Administration would need to formally extend the United States’ nuclear deterrence to Ukraine. Options under discussion in Europe include a “coalition of the resolute” to deploy forces to Ukraine as part of a possible armistice package, deterring further Russian attacks, says Secor. European officials are also debating, without any agreement, whether its military forces could perform non-combat logistical roles to free Ukrainian forces to fight. None of the possible courses of action has moved forward as all eyes are waiting on the incoming Trump Administration for clues about its intended level of support for a NATO framework and other non-NATO proposals. Daria Novak served in the U.S. State Dept.