It seems that, in recent years, America has tried to "lighten up" Thanksgiving. I get it, I do. More people started realizing that Thanksgiving wasn't completely founded on goodness. It's controversial. So why not forget about the pilgrims and Native Americans and instead turn it into a shallow holiday about turkey? Controversy avoided!
...not really.
Don't get me wrong, having kids color pictures of turkeys instead of overly-stereotyped "Indians" and pilgrims linked arm-in-arm IS less offensive. But does that mean we should just forget the holiday's origins?
Thanksgiving has always stirred up intense emotions in me. From the feelings of gratitude, love, warmth, social anxiety, good food, and quality time of my childhood, to the conflicts I began to realize in adolescence, to the anger and despair I experienced when I really studied the darker side of our culture's history, to the joy and exhaustion of bringing a week-old baby to thanksgiving dinner!
To me, Thanksgiving is a time of deep reflection. Yes, it's a reflection on the blessings I have, on gratitude, but it's much more than that. It's a time of sorrow and hope in a better future for mankind. It's a time of struggle; a time of great faith but also fear and doubt. It's even a time of guilt... guilt that I have so much when others have so little; guilt that a lot of what I have came through the persecution, suffering, and deaths of others. I know there's no productivity in feeling guilty, but we do need to acknowledge these not-so-happy parts of our society.
I'm grateful for all the Lord has given me... I know everything comes from Him. But how can I claim my good fortune is a blessing when others who I'm sure are more deserving don't receive the same blessing? I know it's not that simple. We all have a different path to take. Still, though.
Honestly, I'm grateful that I grew up with money struggles but also had access to education. I know I lack a lot of information, and my concept of the world is constantly changing, but I believe I was given a unique balance of perspective, and that may be what I am most thankful for.
I reflect on those who came before me, who brought me here, my ancestors. There are ancestors I cry for, ancestors I'm proud of, and frankly, some ancestors I'm a little ashamed of.
I have mixed blood: Ancestors from Ireland, Scotland, Germany, and others, but there are two cultures in my ancestry I crave to understand most, and number one is the Native Americans. I feel connected to my native ancestors in a deeply spiritual way. I feel their strength and heartache in my bones. Of course there's no way I can prove it (in fact, on paper I've only seen proof that I'm 1/32 native), but it's so strong to me. I did not experience what they went through, and I don't claim to. I do, however, want to know them better.
I also know that Native Americans weren't only killed and driven from their homes. They weren't only forced to live in completely different climates. They weren't only raped and pillaged. They had their CULTURES, their very way of life, traditions, even languages, stripped away from them generation by generation. Now the survivors fight to pick up the pieces. How can we tell everyone to be grateful on a holiday that marks the beginning of such destruction?
I believe Thanksgiving should be a time that reminds us of our history, how far we've come, and how much further we have to go.
What do you ponder on Thanksgiving (I mean other than the best way to cook a turkey or what spices to put in your pumpkin pie)?
I have mixed blood: Ancestors from Ireland, Scotland, Germany, and others, but there are two cultures in my ancestry I crave to understand most, and number one is the Native Americans. I feel connected to my native ancestors in a deeply spiritual way. I feel their strength and heartache in my bones. Of course there's no way I can prove it (in fact, on paper I've only seen proof that I'm 1/32 native), but it's so strong to me. I did not experience what they went through, and I don't claim to. I do, however, want to know them better.
I also know that Native Americans weren't only killed and driven from their homes. They weren't only forced to live in completely different climates. They weren't only raped and pillaged. They had their CULTURES, their very way of life, traditions, even languages, stripped away from them generation by generation. Now the survivors fight to pick up the pieces. How can we tell everyone to be grateful on a holiday that marks the beginning of such destruction?
I believe Thanksgiving should be a time that reminds us of our history, how far we've come, and how much further we have to go.
What do you ponder on Thanksgiving (I mean other than the best way to cook a turkey or what spices to put in your pumpkin pie)?
