giving thanks to eagles on thanksgiving

 

“… the turkey was “a little vain and silly.”

 

Ben Franklinturkeys discussing

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving.

 

No matter how you may look over your past year … inevitably you find things to give thanks for.

 

But I am going to look into the “way-back” machine to find what to be thankful for this year.Like maybe 1776 or so.

 

If cooler heads had not prevailed early in the beginnings of the creation of the good ole US of A … we may be eating eagles for thanksgiving.

 

Why?

 

Because if it had been up to Benjamin Franklin the turkey would have been the national bird instead of the bald eagle.

 

turkey vs eagleWhich would have then <of course> made a turkey a protected species <therefore uneatable because unkillable> and … well … I imagine we would be eating eagles on thanksgiving <okay … maybe not … but it made for a fun thought>.

 

So.

This Thanksgiving I would like to give my thanks to whomever we should thank for getting Ben to focus on something other than turkeys as a national bird.

 

In case you didn’t know about this the National Wildlife website was kind enough to have actually written something about this in 2007 so I will share their words:

 

Nations often adopt animals as symbols: England has its lion, India its peacock. On the afternoon of July 4, 1776, just after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the Continental Congress appointed a committee made up of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and Benjamin Franklin to select a design for an official national seal.

 

The three patriots had different ideas and none of them included the bald eagle. They finally agreed on a drawing of the woman Liberty holding a shield to represent the states. But the members of Congress weren’t inspired by the design and they consulted with William Barton, a Philadelphia artist who produced a new design that included a golden eagle.turkeys BFranklinFurCap

 

Because the golden eagle also flew over European nations, however, the federal lawmakers specified that the bird in the seal should be an American bald eagle. On June 20, 1782, they approved the design that we recognize today.

 

At the time, the new nation was still at war with England, and the fierce-looking bird seemed to be an appropriate emblem. But from the start, the eagle was a controversial choice. Franklin scowled at it. “For my part,” he declared, “I wish the eagle had not been chosen as the representative of this country. He is a bird of bad moral character; he does not get his living honestly. You may have seen him perched in some dead tree where, too lazy to fish for himself, he watches the labor of the fishing hawk and, when that diligent bird has at length taken a fish and is bearing it to his nest for his young ones, the bald eagle pursues him and takes the fish. With all this injustice, he is never in good case.”

 

Some people have since questioned whether the eagle would have been chosen to adorn the seal had the nation not been at war. A year after the Treaty of Paris ended the conflict with Great Britain, Franklin argued that the turkey would have been a more appropriate symbol. “A much more respectable bird and a true native of America,” he pointed out. Franklin conceded that the turkey was “a little vain and silly,” but maintained that it was nevertheless a “bird of courage” that “would not hesitate to attack a grenadier of the British guards who should presume to invade his farm yard with a red coat on.”

 

 

In addition.

In a letter to his daughter Franklin was not particularly nice with regard to our bald eagle:

Franklin’s Letter to His Daughter (excerpt)

 

“With all this Injustice, he is never in good Case but like those among Men who live by Sharping & Robbing he is generally poor and often very lousy. Besides he is a rank Coward: The little King Bird not bigger than a Sparrow attacks him boldly and drives him out of the District. He is therefore by no means a proper Emblem for the brave and honest Cincinnati of America who have driven all the King birds from our Country…

 

By the way.

 

Three other types of birds were suggested in the preliminary United States Great Seal designs:

 

–          a rooster

 

–          a dove

 

–          a phoenix in flames

 

Also. An imperial two-headed eagle <not unlike the pre-soviet Russia emblem> was in the initial discussion..

 

Oh.

 

fuck you youSpeaking of birds with honors <and … no … I am not speaking of giving the honorable proverbial ‘bird’ to someone> … what’s up with state birds?

 

Why the heck do we have state birds?

 

 

And its kind of screwed up because they aren’t even really state birds … because states actually share state birds.

 

<… heck … every state has an official state bird, state flower, state tree, state flower … bla bla bla … what the hell is the point of this? A state has a lot of different birds, trees, flowers so why pick one to be “official”? … oops … sorry … I digressed …>

 

Anyway.

 

Apparently the cardinal is the most popular bird. It is the official state bird in 7 states <Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia … I think> followed by the western meadowlark in 6 states and the mockingbird in 5 states. This also makes me ponder the thought that if say maybe the cardinal reached a majority of states as a state bird … would it then be voting out the bald eagle and become the national bird?

 

turkey twerkyJust so you now.

Just in case you are wondering.

 

Every state officially flips the bird.

 

Happy Thanksgiving.

 

Give someone a bird today.

 

 

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Written by Bruce