So it’s time to celebrate Thanksgiving again. Time for the tired old inaccurate story about the pilgrims in their black cloaks and hats celebrating the ‘first Thanksgiving’ with the Indians. And it’s time for Black Friday, when retailers coerce their employees into clocking in earlier and earlier, and for longer and longer. Which, of course, crushes the least materialistic mainstream American holiday between the grindstones of Christmas and Halloween.
But I like to think that you can make whatever you like out of a holiday. I have little patience for the ’history’ of Thanksgiving children are taught in elementary school, but that doesn’t take away from the morals. There is something valuable about being thankful every once in awhile. Being thankful sounds kind of corny, but it isn’t a bad idea. We all have a lot of good things in our lives, and while that shouldn’t make us complacent, it’s healthy to step away from desire occasionally and remember the positive things that already exist. It’s way too easy to be cynical as I was in the last paragraph, and way too hard to be genuine. But it does not hurt to be sentimental every once in awhile. And I can think of a few things to be thankful for.
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First off, there are the basic comforts that get overlooked every day. I can get out of my chair, walk twenty feet, turn a faucet, and out comes potable water. That’s insane. And electric power is even more incredible. Electric lights alone tremendously benefit our lives, and computers and air conditioning and such do even more. I wrote part of this article during a power outage, and it really reminded me how great it is to have electricity. Don’t take it for granted.
Then there are the people in our lives- friends and family and the like. No matter who you are, there is someone in your life you love. You may still be lonely, but don't forget who you have. In a broader sense, there are people in the world who fight for what they believe in to be thankful for. Even if you disagree with some of them, take comfort in the fact that there are people driven by their inner convictions rather than greed or selfishness.
I still feel like all of this thankfulness is stilted. It’s just weird to talk about being satisfied when everyone is rightfully unsatisfied. What it comes down to is a need to be more genuine. It sort of feels like weakness or naivete after the fallout of the election to admit some level of satisfaction. But it’s not. We are not fallen angels, but risen apes. It makes more sense to measure progress from the bottom up than down from perfection to where we are now. Seeing progress through this lens should not distract humanity from its potential, but it should make us genuinely positive about where we are now because it really is an accomplishment. In the same vein, you should be proud of where you are today; it took work. Progress is hard and slow, but it keeps being made. And we may as well take a day out of November to refresh our memories. Remember to look down sometimes, not just upwards.
