By David K. Shipler
Thanksgiving
is the best of American holidays. It is either religious or secular, depending
on your preference. It is unburdened by materialism and free from jingoistic
patriotism. It celebrates neither war nor triumph. It is not a day of mourning or
grievance. It does not merely turn a page on the calendar but prompts a turning
inward in reflection. The only true indulgence is the elixir of good food, best
observed in our closest circles of family and friends.
Only there,
for those of us who have that safe place of intimacy, does giving thanks come
easily this year. If we have good health, good love, good friendships—if we
have enough money to sustain us comfortably, work that we enjoy, lives that
educate us constantly—gratitude flows clearly. Our act of thanksgiving is about
the present, and the past that has led to our bounty.
We cannot
give thanks for the larger world. Let us hope that next Thanksgiving we can, at
least in some measure. I would wish then to be grateful--
*for the
decency of my fellow Americans, who snuffed out the hateful bigotry and bluster
of Donald Trump and his mob of followers, overcoming them at the polls to
retain our nation’s purpose and ideals.
*for the
eventual intelligence of the presidential campaign’s sensible discussion of
actual issues using actual facts.
*for the
good heart of my country, which put aside its fears to welcome the suffering
and persecuted from violent lands.
*for the conscience
of white America, mobilized by Black Lives Matter to reform policing and
criminal justice.
*for the spreading
realization that mitigating poverty should be an ingredient of our sacred
honor.
*for the
restoration of safe dignity to the women of Raqqa, the girls of Chibok, the people
of Bamako and of Beirut and Paris and Kabul and on and on.
Please add to
the list, and think this year of the next Thanksgiving.
*For the rise of practical solutions above petty ideology and party and national politics, leading to progress in tackling the threats of global warming, terrorism, and other risks to humanity.
ReplyDeleteAmen, brother!
ReplyDelete*for the renewed hope in our country's future, represented by States' decisions, one by one, to pay their teachers like CEOs, to respect them like doctors, and to trust them like ministers.
ReplyDeleteBeautifully put, Lynn.
ReplyDelete*for the promise of things to come under the leadership of President-Elect Hillary Clinton.
ReplyDelete*For the advancement of gender equity by paying women equally, eradicating sexual harassment and discrimination in academia and the workplace, and affirming reproductive freedom as an unfettered right of all women, regardless of socio-economic status.
ReplyDelete*For the honesty of our politicians and business leaders, who admitted that global warming is scientific fact and began working together to craft meaningful reforms.
*For the integrity of our democracy, which restored voting rights to felons who have paid their debts to society, acknowledged that each citizen should have an equal voice, and rejected the proposition that money is speech.