thanks for giving

The giving of thanks, I find should not always be reserved for the 26^th of November, but might indeed be spread across the hours of every day all 365 of them in a year.

Whether or not we speak with gratitude for our health, whisper in hushed tones about our finances, calmly sigh as we find sanctuary from rush hour traffic, long commutes, or shout with delight regarding the quality of people in our lives, most of us find a moment to say “thanks”!

It seems in America, we have conceived a Holiday which permits gushes of glee, torrents of terrific, hours of hurrah, and moments of my oh mys’s mostly centered on a facade of safety and cozy surrounded with food, family and friends.

This is America, and we assume that no matter what may be wrong can and will be made right. This is America, and we assume our beliefs have as much weight as anyone else’s opinions. This is America and we assume that “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”, as described by our founding fathers, still carries weight no matter, gender, color, religion, income. This is America and we assume with holidays like Thanksgiving, we are good people, who care, who are inclusive, and who are generous and giving. This IS America, and we assume we are the good guys/gals. We assume good triumphs over evil, truth triumphs over lies, and hard work, honest thoughts, pure intentions triumph over gluttony, greed and maliciousness.

In the few months leading up to Thanksgiving 2009, America has seen a growing disconnect among its citizens, against new and different, challenging its foundations. These foundations as they were established were to create equality, fairness and justice for all. Suddenly we have seen an America which has stopped giving and now want to deny.

We want to deny health coverage to some Americans. We who have, what we think is a good health insurance policy, believe that we earned that right. And if others are too poor, not as hard working as we, or are constantly ill with poor nutritional habits, don’t deserve our kind of health care. We have this attitude that it is a free market, this America of ours, and you must pay your way, earn your way, and struggle like we did.

We want to take away laws that permit equal rights for some and replace them with not equal… but separate. We disguise our discomfort, our fears, our bigotry in a blanket of religion and self proclaimed morals, by defining marriage as a sanctimonious institution set aside for one man and one woman. We invoke passage and scripture of the holiness of marriage for heterosexuals, assuming within the heterosexual marriage, there is never infidelity or adultery. And if a husband cheats on his wife or a wife has an affair while married, they have not harmed the Institution of Marriage, just made a little dent in its foundation.

We have once again embraced our perceived hierarchy of race and its prominent place in our society that so precisely denied access to power in the America. We elected our first African American President, but through our own insecurities, self loathing, and dimished self respect, have refused to accept his election and thrown the principals of Democracy out the window. We have tried to reinstate the status of white as the alpha any one else less than.

We have renewed our lines in the sand denying those a chance to debate, communicate, understand. We have permitted voices with no fact behind them to lead a harangue of fabrications mistruths- unsubstantiated folly. We have applauded their malevolent behavior because we can safely hide behind their bias and bigotry, and pat ourselves on the back for hating based only on our lack of education, lack of self esteem, lack of backbone.

We have embraced the Capitalistic mantra that win at no cost is correct forget about character or conscience. Stay sly; be sinister to avoid having the middle class or poor obtain chance or choice. Greed and gluttony have become our American way. The actions of the Executives and their legions of doom from the Corporations, Conglomerates, Banks and Wall Street are rewarded for their devious, unethical, immoral actions, while most Americans are denied “a step up”, “an opportunity”, “and fair share”.

We are embarking upon the day of turkey, the weekend of “black Fridays, the start of a national embrace of the season of lights and peace. We are approaching this National Holiday, which whether we like it or not is plump with commercials to give thanks, messages from Politicians to act like good Americans, homilies and proverbs from the pulpit to love they brother.

We want to follow our hearts, but many times it seems in this Thanksgiving 2009, we are told how to love, who to love and when to love. It seems for some, many are not deserving of thanks nor do they warrant providing thanks to.

It is Thanksgiving 2009 and it makes me worried that unless we stop and consider how we got this far and evaluate our individual responsibilities we may not have too many more Thanksgivings to be thankful for tomorrow, tomorrow and the days beyond that.

I will sit at my table with those I love, and wonder about the America I live in.