The Patriot Post® · Thanksgiving Is on the Chopping Block in California

Coming November 26, Happy Thanksgiving to all!

All, that is, except those who live in California. There, the state’s Health and Human Services Agency has practically banned the all-American holiday. Sure, that may sound like a dystopian novel, but it’s reality.

The latest edict issued this month doesn’t specifically mention Thanksgiving, but the “Mandatory Requirements for All Gatherings” will make Californians think twice about having their family and friends over to feast and give thanks.

As for the rules, er, guidelines, the state has limited to three the number of households gathering together. You might think, They’ll never know who or how many people are here. Oh, but they will, because the host must write down the names and contact information of everyone who walks through the front door.

Check that: Your guests aren’t even allowed to walk through the door. All events must be held outdoors. Just imagine Grandpa sharpening his knife and slicing through the roast turkey in the warm California sun amid the smoky haze of a nearby forest fire. (In fairness, it’s not like the power is guaranteed to be on inside either.)

Ah, memories.

Forget about passing around the bowl of mashed potatoes. Governor Gavin Newsom and his power-hungry associates have ordered that food be provided in single-serve containers.

Looking forward to catching up and sharing stories with Uncle Joe? Not a chance. Everyone must be seated six feet apart, which will make hand-holding during the prayer impossible. Then again, California banned religious gatherings long ago. At least you’ll be allowed to take off the mask if you have a medical condition.

Thank you, nanny state.

It gets worse. You must re-don your face mask after each bite. If you’re not eating or drinking in that moment, the mask must be on. And you’ll have to eat fast: Thanksgiving 2020 has a two-hour time limit.

Keep in mind, these are government orders. If they were merely helpful suggestions, Californians could laugh them off and do as they please.

The Family Research Council’s Joshua Arnold asks, “Does California recognize the privacy of the home anymore?” That’s a rhetorical question if there ever was one. Newsom and his commissars (and your potential new White House duo of Biden-Harris) envision a future American society where there’s no privacy, no family, no Liberty. Since the coronavirus outbreak, they’ve broken our culture, traditions, and institutions. And it’s not an accident.

Arnold adds, “Unless they think everyone should live in fear, those who created these rules possibly didn’t think about their impacts on Thanksgiving dinners.”

Let’s not give these people any credit. Of course the politicians and government bureaucrats who came up with these diktats know how they’re going to affect the citizens. They just don’t care what you think or how you feel. It’s all about exercising control and instilling fear.

The Newsom types know exactly what they’re doing. And that’s what makes all of this so sinister and so dangerous. As Rush Limbaugh said on his radio program this week, “They’re trying to destroy the definitions of this country. They’re trying to destroy everything that defines this country as unique and great. They’re trying to eliminate everything in this nation’s past that they find offensive.” This includes celebrating holidays, attending sporting events, expressing religious beliefs, or gathering for meals.

It’s all designed to make us forget what real freedom felt like.

So what’s a good Californian to do? One potential workaround might be to turn Thanksgiving into a Black Lives Matter protest. Or, on a more serious note, as Power Line’s John Hinderaker suggests, “The time has come for civil disobedience. Also, voting for freedom.”

That’s a good point. We do have an election coming up, and these tyrants turning our civilization upside down were actually voted into office.

We the people can just as surely vote them out. Here’s looking at you, Californians.