by Jonathan Reisman

Bitter cynicism is a recipe for heartburn and despair. It is not a healthy state of being, and I have been struggling to find a more positive state of mind in the wake of a very disappointing election for Maine and the nation. It also makes it hard to write a Thanksgiving column, but here goes-

Family and Homestead

I am grateful that my elder son and his partner have returned to Maine. 

I am grateful that my younger son is fighting for his beliefs in the swamp.

I am grateful that my two sisters and sister-in-law regularly offer their support to my wife and me.

I am grateful to my late parents for having, raising, and educating me, and doing their best despite being sideswiped by the sixties.

I am grateful for our two cats, although I wish they would take their rodent control duties more seriously and that they did not so obviously prefer my wife while barely tolerating me. I am also grateful for the wildlife gracing our backyard, including frequent deer, turkeys, skunks, and raccoons (well, not so much), infrequent moose, bear, and various weasel species, woodpeckers, finches, evening grosbeaks, chickadees, nuthatches, grackles and raucous wiseass ravens. The birds entertain us (although I wish the woodpeckers would stop attacking the house) and command rapt indoor incarcerated feline attention.

Community

In the wake of the challenges these past several years have brought to my family, I am grateful to the friends and greater community who have offered their support. Thank you. Political differences divide our nation and have severed many relationships, but I am grateful to those among our left-of-center friends who have chosen to stand by us despite our differences. 

I am grateful to my fellow citizens of Cooper for honoring and trusting me to serve as a Selectman again. The pandemic real estate/building boom and the ongoing Town Beach ordinance saga are bringing new challenges, especially to a limited government/freedom advocate.

Politics and Media

I am grateful to the outnumbered rural Republican caucus for the service and sacrifice they will make. There will be many defeats and very few victories for rural Maine in the coming two years. 

I am grateful for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Congressional Freedom Caucus for fighting for freedom and against woke grooming and indoctrination. I am hopeful that DeSantis will run for and win the Presidency in 2024.

I am grateful to the brave few who continue to fight against policies that judge people based on the color of their skin rather than the content of their character. It is not easy to oppose “anti-racist” Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion policies because you are called racist for doing so.

I am grateful to Miranda Devine and Mollie Hemingway for continuing to expose the corruption of the Biden crime family and legacy media propaganda.

I am grateful to my publisher and editor, for supporting the First Amendment. In years past, that was standard operating procedure for journalists, but not so much today.

I am grateful that the left, the legacy media, and the Biden administration has (so far) not been able to repeal the First Amendment under the guise of “combatting misinformation,” “protecting Democracy,” and/or campaign finance reform. I’m also grateful to Donald Trump and Republican Senators for installing jurists who will protect freedom of speech and the other freedoms actually listed in the Bill of Rights, as opposed to imagined “penumbras” of judicially created rights.