A made-up Holiday?  Atheist forefathers?  Why not let the facts speak for themselves.  The following is President Washington's Thanksgiving Day proclamation, along with scans of the original document.  The original article can be found at wallbuilders.com.  Wallbuilders is an excellent resource for students of American history, as well as issues that confront us in our present time.

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This is the text of George Washington's October 3, 1789 national Thanksgiving Proclamation; as printed in The Providence Gazette and Country Journal, on October 17, 1789.

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By the President of the United States of America.

A Proclamation.

Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me "to recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness."

Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted; for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us. 

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations, and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness to us), and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally, to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best. 

Given under my hand, at the city of New York, the third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-nine.  

G. Washington.

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Related Links:

William Howard Taft national Thanksgiving Day Proclamation
President Abraham Lincoln's Proclamation of Thanksgiving
Governor of Connecticut, Samuel Huntington's Day of Thanksgiving Proclamation
William Paterson, governor of New Jersey's Thanksgiving Day proclamation
Franklin D. Roosevelt's Thanksgiving Day Proclamation
Continental Congress Thanksgiving Day Proclamation
Ulysses S. Grant's national Thanksgiving Proclamation

While being somewhat new the the blogosphere, I am no stranger to the internet.  I have been involved on many levels, in different web based communities, from email lists, to forums, to full blown mega-3d communities.  There are as many things to be involved in as one can imagine .  Most of them, well- all at some point, involve typing.  Many activities are even designed around creative writing.  No other exemplifies this like the blogosphere.

Why then the gross, wanton, bastardization of the English language?  Here's a basic rule of thumb kiddies:  When the letter 'i' is used as a personal pronoun, it should always be capitalized.  While we are at it, 'u' is not a word, nor is 'ur'.  Using various numbers in place of words is the height of laziness and only serves to make you look stupid.  In this age of technology, when nearly everything has some correlation to computers, or is tapped onto a keyboard, maybe a short Mavis Beacon typing class is in order.  It may come as a shock to some, but the basic qwerty keyboard is actually designed to facilitate typing by placing the most used letters together, with the next most used adjacent to them.  To hunt letter/number/extended character combinations in order to even communicate on a basic level, frankly mystifies me.  It complicates a simple task.

It's also amazing to me how many High School and College diplomas are handed out to people who can only spell on a third grade level.  It's truly a shame.  Then there is the issue of grammar.  Now, I was never much of an achiever in school, but one only has to crack a book once in a while to be able to practice the basics of good grammar. Put away the clicker or the game controller once in a while and grab a book.  There aren't many more things satisfying than getting comfy with a good book.  You can travel the world without leaving the house!  And while you are at it, you are improving your command of the English language without even breaking a sweat.

You may be tempted to ask, "What's the big deal? It's just the internet."  I know many very intelligent people who are well spoken and erudite, yet recieveing an email or an IM from them, completely blows me away!  It seems like two different people.  And like it or not, people tend to judge you on first impressions.  On the internet, the first impression you give off is in your writing/typing skills, and your command of the language.  I realize, that I am not perfect in my grammar and diction either, but it is one of the things I continually strive to improve.  That's all anybody can ask, isn't it?  Maybe if more and more of us try harder, it'll catch on, and we can move back up towards the highest literacy rating in the world, instead of 64th where we are now.

In summary, there are a few basic rules I follow that I would like to pass along.  Maybe it will help:

1.) Use actual words instead of shortcuts, webpeak, or l33t.
2.) Capitalize at the beginnings of sentences and when using personal pronouns.
3.) Use proper punctuation, and avoid run-on sentences (one I still struggle with )
4.) Try to convey thoughts as clearly as you would if you were verbally trying to explain something to someone.
5.) Use spell checker, and proof read.  If something seems wrong, change it! The PC has made things so much easier than they used to be.
6.) Read a lot.  Emulate the practices of your favorite (not 'fave' ) authors.

Of course there are a host of other grammatical rules, but if you follow the basics and practice a lot, you'll get better.  Fast!

Hello.... hello.... <tap tap tap>  ....is this thing on?