Ah, Thanksgiving, not the first I won't have attended Stateside at table with family and invited friends, held no doubt at an idyllic location in Colorado. Thanksgiving among the liberal and the woke. And Jewish.
Aside from other reasons which have countered any notions of my making it out there from Berlin in previous years, this year stands out twofold: among the unanimously triple+ vaxxed sitting at table, I alone would boast the status of quadruply-unvaxxed. This would leave little to discuss, as no one would choose to sit near me, in fact no one would let me into the country.
But were I able to show, they would be most happy to have me there, delighted and relieved that I'd finally shown up.
And, were I able (and willing) to be at table among those of my open-minded and educated liberal Jewish origins, with whose wisdom and and experience and outlook I'd identified for half my life thus far and throughout my childhood, I would stand up at some point in the evening's proceedings, tap on the glass nearest me at table, clear my throat, and propose a toast, as I raise my own goblet of Thanksgiving punch:
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"Thank you, I'm grateful to be with you all to observe and to celebrate Thanksgiving in this particularly significant year. As I come all the way from a capital in central Europe, bringing a perspective laden with geographical and historical nearness to those fighting in Ukraine - a perspective presumably unmatched in this room - I invite everyone present to share in this toast and to direct his or her thoughts to two great leaders, and to their shared people for whom they stood and sacrificed.
"Volodymyr Zelenskyi, who as every informed person here is aware belongs to us, is one of ours - and who, as I was reminded back in September in a hotel room in Berlin, is bravely leading his people, his Volk in fact, in a war of liberation against a terrible aggressor - is a man of honor who'd left his career behind him to shoulder this immense task. I toast him now, more than ever, and ask you to join me in doing so.
"And to the man who resides in the eternal estimation of every patriotic West-Ukrainian heart and mind, every day: Stepan Bandera, a hero of a previous generation in the realm of politics and the field of battle, we might well say, President Zelenskyi's very predecessor in this Freedom Fight. Stepan Bandera is the absolute icon and undisputed example of the Svoboda Party and the AZOV and other-named battalions, indeed regiments, without whom Zelenskyi - who is one of ours - could not possibly realize his cause and fabulous advances in this David-and-Goliath undertaking in a decisive war for freedom and democracy, a war of territory and attrition, at great cost to ZelenskyI - who is one of ours - and at great cost to all freedom loving Ukrainians.
"Likewise, without Stepan Bandera and his army of visionary and patriotic combatants, there would have been no Babi Yar, and no pogroms, no cleansing of Jews or Poles - the liberating SS which formed Bandera's rag-tag Ukrainians into a proper SS-Regiment, with runes and black-sun and swastikas, still worn on the AZOV (et al) uniform and in massive tattoos to this day as I raise this toast (and those of you with me), this very Waffen-SS of yesteryear would have had to carry out such difficult tasks alone were it not for the zealously willing army of Ukrainians back in the day under Stepan Bandera's famously charismatic leadership, a charisma finally matched by that of the popular and relentlessly coke-addicted Zelenskyi - full of accolades by visiting politicians and celebrities alike, and promoted 'round the clock on CNN. And like Zelenskyi (who is one of ours), Bandera was a survivor of his day, man of the people, who'd carried his fight into the post-war years eliminating Soviets as he had other enemies, under the valiant protection of the CIA (which by now had taken the SS likewise into its employ). Everything for the Cause - to which we now toast.
"During eight full years of heroic artillery fire and unrelenting pressure on the waywardly Russian-oriented populations of the Donbass, the Bandera forces of our day proved their honorable and noble dedication to the formation of a democratic government which Washington and Victoria Nuland could relate to, nor could this be without the latter two's careful and dedicated guidance. Like President Zelenskyi and Mr. Kolomoyskyi who had installed him in his candidacy for that office, Ms. Nuland is...yes, one of ours.
"So in closing, let me raise this cup once again, to this great and noble and trying endeavor (and taking my cup now in my left hand), raising an extended right arm just as they do in Western Ukraine - the fighters and the legions of a new generation of children and youth they guide and train in this very manner - and with both Stepan Bandera and Volodymyr Zelenskyi (who is one of ours) firmly in mind, permit me to proclaim, join me if you will: Slava Ukrainyi, Slava Bandera!
"Thank you for your attention, your participation - and for your thoughtful silence at this poignant moment. It's an honor to share the Thanksgiving table with all of you after so long since we'd last seen one another."
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On second thought, maybe they'd prefer I hadn't shown up this year either.
But, as they say..."Never Again!", right?
Canadian Parliament: 2 Standing Ovations For Living SS-Nazi Present On Stage With Zelenskyi, Receiving Honors From Trudeau & His (Predominently Klaus Schwab Picked) Hall Of Ukraine-Zombies - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emucBXmTtJo
Canada Honors Nazi In Parliament: You Can't Make This Up - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u05ePzDqp2c
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