We
take a lot for granted in America. We were witness to an endless
string of negative campaign ads during the recent election cycle,
filled with dour messages about bitter working class voters and
small-town people desperately clinging to religion and guns. We saw
a dismal vision of our country, broken and rusting.
But I don’t see that America. I see an America blessed by God
with freedom, prosperity, a moral and unbeatable military and more
things to be thankful for than we can even begin to count.
The United States is the richest country in the world. No other
country even comes close. Nearly 70 percent of Americans now own
their homes. America owns 50 million plasma and LCD flat-screen
televisions and the average household in this country now has 2.4
television sets. Sixty million homes have a web-connected computer.
Eight million households have three or more cars and nearly 51
million households have at least one car. Virtually all Americans
have enough food, have never had a phone disconnected for nonpayment
and consider their homes safe. Even our pets are obese.
Close to 90 percent of our children complete high school compared
to 79 percent just 15 years ago. And while there are some Americans
sleeping on a cold sidewalk somewhere, many of them are waiting in
line to be the first to get their hands on the newest Xbox or
Playstation.
For the truly unfortunate, there are thousands of shelters and
food kitchens preparing hot Thanksgiving meals for those truly in
need across this land. We are a land of unlimited charity and
compassion. Even the poor can be thankful they’re "poor"
in America.
This Thanksgiving, African-Americans can proudly celebrate the
first black president in history - elected by people of all colors,
religions and ethnic backgrounds. I don’t see that happening in
those forward-thinking and progressive countries in Western Europe.
We all have many things to be thankful for. Yet we are all in
danger, once again this year, of taking for granted what God has
given us. Visit the oncology floor of the local children’s
hospital and you will never take anything for granted ever again.
In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an
autumn harvest feast near Plymouth, Mass. This harvest feast is
considered by many to be the very first Thanksgiving celebration,
but it was actually in keeping with a long tradition of celebrating
the harvest and giving thanks to God for a successful bounty of
crops. While it is safe to say that the Pilgrims were not gobbling
up pumpkin pie or playing with their mashed potatoes, historians do
know that venison and wild fowl were on the menu.
Every year we are treated to a barrage of attempts to disprove
the "myth" of the first Thanksgiving. The Pilgrims weren’t
the first people in America to hold a thanksgiving, the first
Thanksgiving had no religious significance at all, but was merely a
harvest festival, that our traditional Thanksgiving dinner has
nothing in common with the Pilgrim’s meal. The attempts to devalue
the religious nature of our present Thanksgiving holiday are
unfortunate since Thanksgiving is one of the few remaining holidays
that is not swept away with commercialism or mixed with pagan
elements.
The legacy of thanks, and particularly of the feast, has survived
the centuries as people throughout the United States gather family,
friends and enormous amounts of food for their yearly Thanksgiving
meal. We enjoy turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, olives,
cranberries, followed by baked pumpkin and apple pies covered with
heaps of whipped topping. The Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys have
games scheduled every year on this day. This year they’re joined
by Kurt Warner and the Arizona Cardinals for a choice of three NFL
games.
We must never forget who it is we’re thanking. Any attempt to
belittle the religious component of the first Thanksgiving
misunderstands the mindset of Pilgrims who were steeped in the idea
of all life being "religious" and under the providential
hand of God. America used to think this way. Perhaps we should
again. Faith itself is something to be thankful for. Thanksgiving
should be more than just a long weekend.
Make this Thanksgiving different. Make it about the things that
matter. Take a look at your family and be thankful for how God wove
his hand into your life and steered you into the path of the
beautiful person sitting across the table from you. If the years
have added a few lines to your faces, know that this too is a
blessing, as wisdom and a life of cherished memories are something
younger people can only look forward to.
Be thankful for the countless and forgotten number of times in
the past year that your children have come home at night safely -
free of drugs and alcohol. Be thankful for your daily commutes into
work every morning and the housework that awaits you when you get
home.
Go to church on Thursday. If you don’t have one, find one. Just
go. Be thankful you live in a country where you have that freedom.
Many families begin Thanksgiving by attending church prayer services
in the morning. This is a special day for churches and they provide
wonderful services that leave a joyful feeling in your heart. What
better way to start the day?
Give mom a hand with the cooking and the cleanup. If the whole
family gets involved, it’s quality time spent together that is
otherwise lost forever.
Each moment not spent with your loved ones is one that can never
be recovered. Watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. Play a
game. Pick one (and only one) of the three NFL games and watch it
from kickoff to the final gun. Invite family, friends and neighbors
who might be spending the day alone. Volunteer at a shelter. Take
pictures. Rent a chick-flick and watch it with your wife. Take a
chance. Kiss someone you love and let them know why. Draw names for
Christmas. Put on a skit for your parents. Make a centerpiece. Call
somebody you miss. Leave the dishes in the sink and see a movie at
the Rivoli in downtown Cedarburg with the family. Take a drive and
look at the miraculous Ozaukee County countryside.
Take this Thanksgiving and make it special. Make it what it was
meant to be - a day of faith, family, love and gratitude.
Gary Wickert is an author, trial lawyer, and town of Cedarburg
supervisor, who lives with his wife and two sons. He can be reached
at garywickert@ameritech.net.