Happy Thanksgiving 2022

I want to wish everyone in America a Happy Thanksgiving. 

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This wish is not coming from any colonialist, nationalistic perspective. I am not blind in the least to the history of this country and I am not one to engage in denial about these things. 

This wish for all comes from my own view on Thanksgiving, which has nothing to do with history. It is a philosophy of being thankful for what we have at the moment, no matter how much or how little we do have. I have experienced past holidays when I could not afford the traditional turkey. One year it was chicken. Another year it was a frozen On-Cor turkey loaf. One year it was hot dogs. Though I was happy in each case for what I did have. I was also happy it was not tofurkey. I’d rather have hot dogs.

A report from the US Farm Bureau stated that the trappings for a Thanksgiving dinner this year are up by 20% over last year on average. As a result, 1 of 3 Americans have said they will be skipping the traditional Thanksgiving meal. The additional expense of the meal comes on top of a dramatic rise in the general cost of living. 

Turkey or ham for the holiday is simply a tradition. Traditions can change. None of this means that one should merely settle for where they may currently be in life, if they are lacking materially in some way or suffering emotionally. It is human nature to want forward progress, to want monetary security and personal stability. There is no conflict in being happy with what you do have yet still strive for more in some sense in the future. This is just a pause in the rat race that we are told we must engage in. 

Sadly, many are not only unable to afford the traditional holiday meal but are struggling to maintain food in their homes, keep the utilities on or roofs over their heads on a daily basis. My heart goes out to these people. My own past allows me to relate to that position all too well. None of my words come from a lifetime position of privilege, as most of our elected officials come from. Barely any of them have ever been at risk of hunger, cold or homelessness. Nothing I will say will point a finger at those who are without and blame it on them, I will not tell people to work harder, pull themselves up by their bootstraps (which is a physical impossibility) or anything of the kind. 

My own holiday this year, as for many other people, will be spent working. My observation of the holiday will come on an alternate day. Nothing abnormal about that for those of us who have spent a lifetime in service professions, including the medical field or the military. If not for that, I may well have volunteered at a food bank or homeless shelter. Instead, I continued my donation to the local food bank, which I do all year, as long as I can afford it. Food banks and homeless shelters need donations and assistance all year, not just during the holidays. I am not sorry to be working. My patients and coworkers need me there and I am happy to have an income. Not all are so lucky. 

In one sense or another, I still see all of us as connected to one another. If you do have more than enough yourself, I encourage you to check with friends, families, neighbors and coworkers. See if those around you are lacking or if they are alone. I also encourage people to volunteer at food banks and homeless shelters. Maybe even more so if you, yourself are lacking food or companionship. These things offer a great way to give some emotional support during such rough times. None of us ever know when we may be in the same situation as those we help. If you are lacking resources, then it will provide you with a meal and you could make some friends along the way. 

This is really the point. To be thankful does not necessarily mean to be thankful for material possessions. Our society focuses far too much on these things, which are extremely superficial. We can be thankful for friends, family, health, a roof over our head, any form of income, personal safety or anything else in life which we enjoy or take for granted most of the time. We all have things to be thankful for, whether we realize it in our daily lives or not. The times in our lives when we have little makes us greater appreciate the times when we have more. The trick is to not convince ourselves that we have less than we do. Material possessions have little meaning. The way others feel about us, how we will be remembered, the memories we have late in life may be related to what car we drove or a nice house but it is the memories and connections we make which we will think of most fondly. It is the laughter in the house, the trips we took in the car and the obstacles in life we overcame which we recall and the human connections we make which we will be remembered for. It is not what we have but what we share that matters. What food is on the table matters far less than who is at the table with us. 

I believe if I am elected that I may do the normal pardoning of a turkey for the holiday, though I find it a rather silly tradition. However, I would also engage in something far more meaningful, which would be determined later. It would have to be something which began a new tradition aimed at easing human suffering. It may involve something like providing a Basic Income for several hundred Americans who live below the poverty line for several years. This would be a form of pardon for them, seeing that they have been sentenced to a prison of impoverishment while committing no crime to deserve it. 

Again, I wish all Americans the best Thanksgiving possible for your individual circumstances. Please do all you can to give others things to be thankful for as well.