Thanksgiving, one of my favorite days of the entire year. I’ve always enjoyed getting together with family over a large meal and remembering all there is to be thankful for. Truthfully, we should be doing this far more often than one day out of the year. On the other hand, reminders are important, especially in our world today. Say what you will, but things are truly moving faster than ever before. Or with the never ending flow of information at our fingertips, perhaps its merely our perception of things going faster. At any rate, we need reminders like Thanksgiving. It’s good to have a national day to remember all we have to be thankful for.
Traditions & False Lore
Hopefully you are aware that Thanksgiving being a tradition, there is a lot of lore attached that isn’t true. I remember at my elementary school making paper Indian headbands and wearing cartoonish Pilgrim hats. I heard the tale of how Squanto helped the Pilgrims to no end. All complete with a happy, smiling Turkey. I always wondered what the turkey had to be thankful for. He was the main course after all. Of course, thanksgiving wasn’t instituted until Abraham Lincoln’s administration. Even if such a meal really did take place between Native Americans and Pilgrims, it would’ve been in September anyway. But like Teyve says in “Fiddler on the Roof”, ‘where would be without our traditions’?
All We Have To Be Thankful For
This year I wonder about all the things we have to be thankful for that we tend to take for granted. If you’ve spent any time here, you’ve heard me talk about all the problems in America. I won’t deny the issues facing us, many of them quite serious. Issues aside, that doesn’t negate the fact that even on our worst day, life in America is still a lot better than most of the world. Consider the access we have to food and clean water. Even homeless people can still get meals. There are regions in the world where children die of starvation. Hard to believe in our ‘civilized’ age isn’t it? As the recent film “The Sound of Freedom” has poignantly illustrated, we still live in a world where innocent children are sold like cattle in a sick trade. Not to mention that we are finally seeing 2020 fade behind us. There’s no lockdowns, no viral pandemic. Yes there are still masks and whatnot, but it wasn’t long ago when Times Square was empty.
Life Itself Is A Gift
My point is, let’s try not to forget about all we have to be thankful for this year. (or really any year) Of course times are difficult. Ukraine is suffering from a brutal invasion from Russia. The death toll in the war Israel is fighting is becoming horrific. So this coming holiday, look around on the dinner table and be thankful for the fact your home isn’t being blown to splinters. That you aren’t having to watch your family shot to death before your eyes. We should be thankful we even have family to have dinners with.
I wish I had something truly profound to say, but I ask, is that really necessary? Shouldn’t life itself be enough? I don’t like saying ‘be grateful for the small things’ because it’s become so cliche, but that doesn’t make it untrue. Let’s bear that in mind this year. The turkeys of course are exempt from this. They have nothing to be thankful for.
