An American Thanksgiving - Reader comments at The New York Sun

Submitted by Trelaina, Nov 27, 2007 18:09

I enjoyed the dry humor, but behind the sarcasm, I think you made some very good points. I think that Thanksgiving is too often taken for granted as just another holiday (much like Christmas) that we celebrate as part of an American tradition. Many people see it as an excuse to take the day off, stuff themselves silly with gravy, yams, and all that good stuff, watch some football, and lethargically sprawl across the sofa. I think there is more meaning to a day of thanks than that. Christmas has virtually lost its meaning and become a commercial venture, but don't even get me started on that. How often do we take the time to reflect on how truly grateful we are that we can be together with our friends and family on Thanksgiving? How often does anyone look at the table filled with wonderful food and ever stop to think that they are incredibly lucky to have such a quantity of nourishment at their disposal? After eating my Thanksgiving meal, my family goes around the table and everyone says what they're thankful for. Yes, there are the generic responses to that question such as food, family, nice weather, which are all true, but my little brother took it one step further on Thanksgiving. He said, "I'm thankful that we are not on the other side of the world starving right now like the children in Africa." I think that's pretty insightful for a seven-year-old. But how true is that? Nothing like child candor. It's quite a bittersweet statement to make, especially because it is indeed the reality of our world. Most Americans have no idea how good they have it, because they haven't experienced the agony and the suffering that goes along with severe malnourishment and starvation, or the misery of living with diseases. Of course, there are people who suffer anywhere in the world, and I am not trying to down play the sympathy I have for them, nor the guilt I feel for having such a privileged existence, but America as a whole has many more privileges and freedoms than a large number of nations do. We have so many things available to us in this land of the free, and, as Steyn pointed out, things that I'm sure we could survive without; those ubiquitous novelty items.

Although many Americans complain about our lack of democracy in government, I think they fail to realize that we are much better off than many other countries. Even the developed ones, like Spain, France, and England, still restrain their citizens and stifle their personal rights much more than is done in America. True, things are far from perfect in this country, but when are things ever perfect in any country? I mean, even if we did have the ideal utopian society, people would find reasons to complain about something. And maybe we should celebrate our right to complain. We have the right to freedom of speech, freedom of the press, the freedom to have a voice. That's much more than other nations have: they just bow and submit to their dictator's every whim. I'm sure it's a virtually national consensus that Bush wore out his welcome about five years ago, but Kim Jung Il of North Korea is still going strong, even after he's run the country into the ground. When we look at things from a global perspective, we are living on top of the world. That's why we shouldn't abuse or take for granted our rights as Americans, as human beings. And these rights that should be granted to every human being are usually suppressed. America is different in that way, and we should be more grateful for what we do have. Even if it's not a lot here, it probably is compared to someone in a third-world country.

And yes, I think we do need to thank the brave soldiers who have put their life on the line for not only this country, but for the security of the entire world. Thanks for bringing that up. We've been accused of getting too involved in international affairs and butting into things that aren't our problem, but I think that our willingness to help protect other nations(even if we aren't always successful or don't go about it in the best way) proves that America is a valuable addition to the world. I guess we are sort of the self-proclaimed maintenance department of the global society, but if we have the ability and right to do good in the world, why not do so? These are the things we should reflect on, not just at Thanksgiving, but all year round. We should be proud of who we are as Americans, and be deeply appreciative of our opportunity to live in this country.

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For What the Thanks

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