ARLO'S THANKSGIVING LETTER

Occupy Thanksgiving - Merry Everything!
It's early morning, 2011 Nov 23rd. I'm at my desk as usual drinking some decent coffee while the rest of this part of the world begins to wake up. This is my favorite time of day, before it actually starts. My family is flocking to the area - My brother is here. I haven't had him stay with us in a while. My kids are all around as well as my niece and her two kids. Yes, it's that time of year again and I'm loving it. I'm thinking about all the young people I've seen over the past month or so out in the streets around this country occupying their cities and towns - trying to change the world. I'll be joining them again where and when I can. And I'm hoping that they find food and shelter from those who can provide it. For my part there will be a Thanksgiving Dinner at the Guthrie Center (The old Trinity Church where I wrote and later filmed Alice's Restaurant). It'll be packed this year. I will spend my Thanksgiving with friends and neighbors unable to do so on their own.
I am not at all discouraged or angry with the politicians and authorities who have shown contempt and disrespect for our young people out there. I feel sorry for them. They are self-made slaves to the great whore of our times - the idea that government is best when it serves those with the most. It should come as no surprise that those bowing and groveling at the feet of privatization - social security, medicare, roads, schools and everything else, should desire that government be privatized. The idea that congressmen and women, judges and elected officials on federal, state and local levels work best when bought and paid for by those who can afford to do so is at the heart of the matter. All the other issues before us, as a nation and a world, arise from this disgusting and anti-American core value.
I urge everyone, here and abroad to show respect and gratitude to these nameless young people. Talk about them in the coffee shops and luncheonettes with friends and neighbors. They are the heroes of a new generation. They will be vilified and slandered by those who have the most to lose. But, their courage and conviction is exactly right and appropriate. They need all the support they can get as they push us forward as a civilization toward a more perfect union. And they will succeed. Slowly and inevitably they will push us into the light of a better world. The signs are all around us. There is a great hope and a wonderful dream shared by countless generations of good people inching forward through history. It will burst like a dam upon those who try to hold it back. Resistance is indeed, futile.
The coffee is cold, the frozen rain keeps falling. But, inside there is a flame which seems to get brighter. It flickers at the edge of my thoughts though I sit alone. And I send my prayers and salutations to others around the world on this day… The day before we here in the USA celebrate the things for which we are most thankful. This year, I am not only thankful but hopeful and excited. Happy Thanksgiving - Merry Everything! adg