The most perfect display of American consumerism and woke cancel culture would be to skip over Thanksgiving, which is why we should not.
Some holidays may be tied to family circumstances or personal choice. Children all grown up and out of the house? Halloween might not be as fun as it was when little ones were in costumes. Not particularly religious? Easter may not hold the same meaning to you as it does to Christians.
But the beauty of Thanksgiving is that it is universal: Give thanks for what you have and for the ancestors before you.
“Let us each take time to offer thanks for the bounty of our own lives and for the relatives and friends that gather with us to share food and companionship on this special day,” President Bill Clinton stated in his 1995 Thanksgiving proclamation. “We give praise for the relationships that sustain us — in our families, churches, schools, and communities.”
Yet, the holiday faces regular threats. For one, there is the inclination to skip Thanksgiving and head straight into Christmas season consumerism, a problem of its own. In September, USA Today reported that people were already starting their Christmas shopping, and CBS News reported Christmas deals were beginning in “early October.”
Second, there can be the temptation not to celebrate because of criticism of how early explorers treated Indigenous people; take part in a “National Day of Mourning” instead, as some do. The early explorers were not perfect people, nor were the Native Americans, nor are you.
But the Spaniards who came here in 1565, the Pilgrims who landed in 1620, and everyone after them have played some role in building the country, no matter how large or small.
Celebrating Thanksgiving can be an act of humility, forcing us to think of the people before us who contributed to the benefits we enjoy today. Think about the road you drove on this morning and how it could have been centuries ago when someone first cleared the forest and built a dirt path there.
The church you attended on Sunday, the school you attended as a child, and the restaurant you may eat in this week if the turkey gets burned likely did not spring up yesterday. Some of the people who built those institutions were also flawed, but the benefits they created reverberate today.
A related cancel culture threat, given that we just finished a presidential election, is to avoid celebrating because Uncle Joe is going to Thanksgiving, and he voted for President-elect Donald Trump.
“My Husband And His Family Voted For Trump — So I’m Canceling Thanksgiving and Christmas,” Andrea Tate wrote at Huffington Post. Around 23% of people said they might skip Thanksgiving to “avoid family stress surrounding the presidential election,” Fox 17 reported on a national poll. Thankfully, this means a majority of Americans are not going to let politics get in the way.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
My ancestors and those of 35 million others didn’t brave the Atlantic Ocean so some Huffington Post writer could skip out on holidays because her father-in-law thought Trump’s tax policies were better than Vice President Kamala Harris’s. That writer and others like her miss the point of Thanksgiving.
Just because we live in the world’s wealthiest country does not mean there are no real physical, mental, and financial problems people deal with every day. But setting aside at least one day to count blessings seems like the least we can do.
Matt Lamb is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. He is an associate editor for the College Fix and has previously worked for Students for Life of America and Turning Point USA.