Thanksgiving Is Not A Sinister Holiday | Proof For Your Liberal Friend

Summary

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Podcast Summary: The Matt Walsh Show

Episode: Thanksgiving Is Not A Sinister Holiday | Proof For Your Liberal Friend
Host: Matt Walsh (The Daily Wire)
Date: November 27, 2025

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Matt Walsh confronts the growing narrative that Thanksgiving is a problematic or even “sinister” holiday. He challenges progressive criticisms of Thanksgiving, rebuts historical revisionism around the holiday, and defends the importance of gratitude and pride in American history. Walsh emphasizes the need to focus on national achievements and rejects what he views as an unhealthy, negative lens on the past.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Critique of Progressive Thanksgiving Narratives

• Matt reads and responds to a recent article from The Nation questioning whether America should continue to celebrate Thanksgiving.
  • The article presents two perspectives: one advocating for "decolonizing Thanksgiving" by centering the indigenous experience, and one suggesting abandoning the holiday in favor of “Truthsgiving.”
• He highlights how even the “pro-Thanksgiving” side, as quoted in the article, frames Thanksgiving in terms critical of European settlers (“evil, genocidal colonizers”).

2. The “New Simplistic Story”

• Walsh argues that both the traditional and current progressive narratives oversimplify the complexities of history.
  • “The old simplistic story of the holiday has now been replaced with a new simplistic story. In the new simplistic version, the native tribes were all a bunch of peaceful tree-hugging hippies in tune with the earth and nature singing Kumbaya when they were viciously slaughtered by the white man.” (Matt Walsh, 06:48)
• He asserts that the truth is more nuanced: indigenous tribes had their own histories of violence and warfare before European contact.

3. Challenging the “Stolen Land” Rhetoric

• Walsh disputes the idea of the land being “stolen,” describing it as “conquered fair and square.” He asserts that conquest and suffering were universal themes in world history, not unique to America or the Thanksgiving narrative.
  • “They never acknowledge even one of the many, many, many, countless instances of Indian tribes inflicting horrific, savage violence on innocent colonists, including women and children, and on each other.” (Matt Walsh, 07:40)
  • “This land was not stolen. It was conquered fair and square. The previous conquerors of this land were then themselves conquered. That’s the way it goes.” (Matt Walsh, 08:18)

4. Historical Memory & National Identity

• Matt argues that every country has foundational legends and heroes, and that an honest but prideful remembrance builds healthy national identity.
  • “Every country has its legends. Every country has its foundational myths. There is nothing sinister about that.” (Matt Walsh, 05:19)
  • “You will look back on your history with pride and gratitude, or with resentment and despair. You will focus on the triumph or the tragedy.” (Matt Walsh, 09:08)

5. The Psychological & Societal Impact of Historical Self-Flagellation

• Walsh contends that constantly focusing on historical injustices breeds resentment and depression.
  • “It’s only made us resentful, sullen, depressed, ungrateful. It has made us worse people and our country a worse country.” (Matt Walsh, 10:09)
• He contrasts the Western approach to history with that of non-Western countries, claiming others focus on triumphs, not tragedies.

6. Walsh’s Conclusion: Pride and Thanksgiving

• Matt unequivocally states his own position: he celebrates the courage of early Americans and embraces gratitude for the existence of the nation.
  • “I am happy that they came here and that they conquered. I am thankful for their conquest. I will give thanks for it on Thanksgiving and for so much else.” (Matt Walsh, 10:44)
  • He finishes by “canceling” those who refuse gratitude and focus solely on the nation’s flaws.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On revisionist history:
  • “Of course it’s not the whole story, you idiot. It was in second grade. I assume it wasn’t the whole story.” (Matt Walsh, 05:56)
• On historical suffering:
  • “Four hundred years ago, almost everybody’s life was brutal and tragic. If we’re supposed to be sad about misfortunes suffered by people we never met way back in the distant past, then we will never stop being sad.” (Matt Walsh, 08:36)
• On choosing gratitude:
  • “The people of all other nations across the world...choose to focus on the triumph of their ancestors, which breeds national pride and patriotism and gratitude. In the modern West, we are the only ones who have decided to basically ignore all of the positive and concentrate almost exclusively on the bad.” (Matt Walsh, 09:18)
• Conclusion:
  • “I celebrate the incredible valor and intrepidness of my ancestors. I take pride in this country’s history and those who made it possible for this country to exist in the first place.” (Matt Walsh, 10:34)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [01:03] – Introduction to the “Thanksgiving controversy”; Matt reads from The Nation article
• [04:55] – Analysis of how historical stories are simplified and the functions of national myths
• [06:48] – Critique of the new, oversimplified progressive narrative about native/colonist relations
• [07:24] – Discussion of indigenous violence and the myth of “stolen land”
• [08:36] – Commentary on the ubiquity of suffering in the past
• [09:08] – Discussion on national memory and the dangers of constant self-criticism
• [10:34] – Matt’s wholehearted endorsement of pride and gratitude on Thanksgiving

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Tone

• The episode is direct and confrontational, with Matt Walsh’s signature blend of sarcasm and bluntness.
• There is an undercurrent of frustration with mainstream media and “leftist” perspectives.
• The overall message is one of defiance and encouragement to celebrate Thanksgiving joyfully, without shame.

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This episode serves as a resource for listeners looking to counter critiques of Thanksgiving and reinforce patriotic appreciation of American history, particularly around the narrative of the holiday’s origins.

Transcript

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[Guest Commentator]

The Pilgrims overtook the Native Americans and took everything that they had worked so hard for.

[Ben Shapiro]

Well, you know, Thanksgiving is a wonderful time. It's my favorite holiday. It's a time for celebration, gratitude. Time to gather around the table with your family, enjoy a wonderful meal, reflect on all the things that you're thankful for. Unless you are a deranged leftist, in which case you will insist that Thanksgiving is not so simple. There are nuances, as you like to say. Thanksgiving is deeply problematic. And that's why every year around this time of year, you'll start seeing articles like this one, which was just published in the Nation headline, Should America Keep Celebrating Thanksgiving now. The article presents two competing perspectives. Both sides of the discussion are put forward, and you have to give the nation credit at least for giving both sides of the debate. As dumb as you might think the debate is, at least they gave both sides. And you know, that's honestly more than I would expect from this publication. So here's the first argument presented by a guy named Shaun Sherman. The sanitized version of Thanksgiving neglects to mention the violence, land theft, and subsequent decimation of indigenous populations. Needless to say, this causes tremendous distress to those of us who are still reeling from the trauma of these events. To our communities, Thanksgiving's roots are intertwined with colonial aggression. One of the first documented Thanksgivings came in 1637, after the colonists celebrated their massacre of an entire Pequot village. I do not think we need to end Thanksgiving, but we do need to decolonize it. That means centering the indigenous perspective and challenging the colonial narratives around the holiday. And every other day on the calendar by reclaiming authentic histories and practices, decolonization seeks to honor Indigenous values, identities and knowledge. This approach is one of constructive evolution. In decolonizing Thanksgiving, we acknowledge this painful past while reimagining our lives in a more truthful manner. Now, by the way, in case this wasn't clear, that was the pro Thanksgiving side of the debate. So they have two sides of the debate. That's what the pro side sounds like. The Thanksgiving defender is a guy who thinks that the European settlers were evil, genocidal colonizers. So if that's what he thinks, here's what the opponent of the holiday has to say. You want to give thanks? Give thanks to Native nations who granted settlers some form of legitimacy by entering into treaties recognizing them to be in our homelands. Those treaties recognize that Americans are now under our spiritual custody and have rights to pass through our country. As soon as Americans were able to impose their will on indigenous nations, the treaties were violated. Some indigenous nations do not have treaties, and legally this means their nation should be intact. Those of us who have treaties have defensible legal claims to lands that are now occupied by private American settlers under U.S. law. November is already Native American Heritage Month. Thanksgiving could be something better. A day to appreciate the truth of a Native American history and Native Americans contributions to our lives. Let's tell a different story by dropping the lie of Thanksgiving and begin a truthsgiving. Yes, let's tell the truth of Thanksgiving, he says. Let's tell the story that no one's ever heard before. And that's why every year around this time, there are dozens of articles and videos talking about the alleged truth that nobody is allegedly talking about. With the holidays coming up, all those dinners, all those moments around the table with family, I want to make sure every meal is special. That's why I use good ranchers. All their meat is 100% American, raised on local farms, delivered right to my door. Quality? Well, truly incredible. 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We don't have camera footage to review, so we can only go by what people involved said happened or what people who talked to people involved said happened. So none of this is revelatory. We all understand this, okay? So every time they say, well, did you know, you know what they told you in second grade about Thanksgiving, did you know that wasn't the whole story? Of course it's not the whole story, you idiot. It was in second grade. I assume it wasn't the whole story. None of that changes the basic meaning of Thanksgiving or undermines or debunks the basic central story of Thanksgiving. Besides, the old simplistic story of the holiday has now been replaced with a new simplistic story. In the new simplistic version, the native tribes were all a bunch of peaceful tree hugging hippies in tune with the earth and nature singing Kumbaya when they were viciously slaughtered by the white man.

[Guest Commentator]

The Pilgrims overtook the Native Americans and took everything that they had worked so hard for.

[Ben Shapiro]

The actual truth is that the native tribes were in a constant state of war long before any white man set foot on these shores. Violence was an integral part of so called indigenous culture, all indigenous cultures, because it was not just one culture, okay? These were disparate tribes stretched out all over the hemisphere and violence was an integral part of all of them. No exceptions. As for their contact with European settlers, sometimes the contact was peaceful on both sides. On some occasions, the settlers committed atrocities on some Occasions, the Indians committed atrocities. On some occasions, the atrocities on either side were basically unprovoked. On plenty of occasions, there was mutual combat between the two sides. They don't mention any of this. They never do. They never acknowledge even one of the many, many, many, countless instances of Indian tribes inflicting horrific, savage violence on innocent colonists, including women and children, and on each other. They never acknowledge it because they don't want you to realize that this land was not stolen. It was conquered fair and square. The previous conquerors of this land were then themselves conquered. That's the way it goes. By the way, I've got news for you. Four hundred years ago, almost everybody's life was brutal and tragic. If we're supposed to be sad about misfortunes suffered by people we never met way back in the distant past, then we will never stop being sad. Almost everyone, everywhere, suffered greatly back in those days. There are plenty of people still suffering greatly today. If you want to empathize with people's pain, maybe choose people who are currently living, not people who had decomposed in the ground 400 years ago, not people who died 300 years before the automobile was invented. Now, in final analysis, history contains an essentially infinite amount of suffering and atrocities and outrages and injustices. It also contains heroism and sacrifice and courage and achievement. It is up to us to decide which of those things in our national history we will focus on. I contend that the healthiest category to focus on, the thing that you focus on if you want to be a thriving and happy and healthy society, is the latter. Which isn't to say that we outright deny and never discuss the former. Of course we acknowledge that bad things were done in our history. We shouldn't try to erase that from the history books, and nobody is. But ultimately, you will look back on your history with pride and gratitude, or with resentment and despair. You will focus on the triumph or the tragedy. The people of all other nations across the world, or at least the non Western world, they choose to focus on the triumph of their ancestors, which breeds national pride and patriotism and gratitude. In the modern west, we are the only ones who have decided to basically ignore all of the positive and concentrate almost exclusively on the bad. So much so that even our day of Thanksgiving has become, at least in some corners, times of mourning. And what has that strategy gotten us? It's only made us resentful, sullen, depressed, ungrateful. It has made us worse people and our country a worse country. That's why I will not partake in this historical self flagellation. Instead, I celebrate the incredible valor and intrepidness of my ancestors. I take pride in this country's history and those who made it possible for this country to exist in the first place. I am happy that they came here and that they conquered. I am thankful for their conquest. I will give thanks for it on Thanksgiving and for so much else. And for everybody else, I will say they are today canceled.

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