By David Joel Miller, MS, Licensed Therapist & Licensed Counselor.

Don’t turkeys of color get pardons?

Wild turkeys.
Photo courtesy of Pixabay.com

It struck me this morning as a watched the news that the president of these United States had pardoned not one but two national turkeys this year. Again, as in past years, all the turkeys that received pardons were white.

Does this bother any of the rest of you?

Now, this is not meant to be racist. Not with respect to the human type races anyway. Just I personally have a fondness for turkeys (Birds) of color.

Turkeys of Color, wild turkeys that are, have a long association with our country. Again I am talking about the birds, not the beverage. Benjamin Franklin, I believe it was him, suggested the Turkey of color as our national bird. No pale-skinned fowl for him.

Among the Native Americans, turkeys of the more colorful than white varieties were kept as a pet and the feathers used for weaving warm clothing by the Pueblo peoples. One author I read, I forget who reported that young women who could raise turkeys, grind corn, and weave warm clothing were considered highly desirable as wives.

I am thinking that the ability to take care of animals and feed you is still a sought-after quality.

I do not mean to pick on the current president. I kind of like the guy, (except for his administration’s involvement in the equal opportunity spying on citizens and friends alike.) Why I even voted for him.

That voting for him should not be taken as a too much of a recommendation though. I once voted for both McGovern and Nixon in the same election cycle. Can’t I get anything right?

After all, this practice of pardons being only for white national turkeys has been going on for a long time. I seem to remember that the Republican presidents have pardoned a whole lot of white turkeys, fowl, and otherwise.

This whole turkey pardon may not matter to the rest of you. I realize I tend to see things backward. Remember I have a slight disability, I am left-handed and the whole world seems to be run the opposite of what I would have expected on a rational planet.

Still, I am just saying, next year how about we pardon at least one Turkey of color?

And while we are at it lets pardon some other creatures of all varieties just on the principle that we are a great enough country to hand out some extra mercy occasionally.