[Misc.]

The Thanksgiving Post

Since kindergarten, we've been answering the question "what are you thankful for today?" We inevitably look inward and offer thanks for the things which, at root, keep us going--family, health, friends. It feels like a post-Freud thing, giving thanks as group therapy. We ignore the bigger themes and opt for safe psychological terrain. That's fine, as far as it goes, but doesn't Thanksgiving have a more political, a more national character?

The origins of the holiday are many, but the national legend supports this one: in the early 17th century, Massachusetts pilgrims held a repast with the friendly Wampanoag to celebrate the harvest following the brutal first year in North America. The locals, who according to this tale assisted the pilgrims, broke bread and celebrated the success of the new visitors.

Nearly three hundred years later, how should we offer thanks? How have we honored this spirit of international brotherhood? Should we break bread with Iraqis? And if so, which ones--Sunnis, Shi'a, or Kurds? The warm celebration--not to mention the Cowboys-Broncos game--might be spoiled by a car bomb should all three be invited, so best hold off on that. Perhaps we might invite the French? Germans? Actually, based on Bush's recent travels, I think we can scratch the whole of Europe--even "new Europe"--off the invitation list.

From the tiny community of 52, we have grown into the world's sole superpower. We are as religious as ever, but somehow less humble, less collaborative. After invading Iraq, Bush celebrated Thanksgiving with the troops. Pictures of him in front of a golden turkey were whisked to FOX News, who was trying to help give birth to another myth. (The turkey was a plastic fake and the soldiers got the same old KBR offering.) Bush forwarded a new way of giving thanks--to him, for liberating a populous from a despot.

We're thousands of deaths and long months into a simmering civil war from that fantasy, so probably we won't see a reprise of of the plastic turkey affair. For this Thanksgiving, we might do well to recall a far more recent event, the weeks following 9/11. The countries of the world, on the eve of that year's Thanksgiving, offered Wampanoag-like support for us in our time of need.

For the next three years, we'll be biting our tongues and turning inward to locate our gratitude. But as I look at the polls and the collapsing leadership within the Republican party, I can actually find something for which to offer my thanks. After two and a half decades of persuing fools gold in the GOP promises, Americans seem to finally be waking up to reality. In 2003, when Bush offered the plastic turkey, Americans had a hearty helping. This year, they seem to recognize how bad plastic tastes and how little it nourishes. With some good luck and good leadership, we may actually be pulling out of this long national malaise. I'm thankful for that.

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Other Bloggers have their own thoughts. Some good ones: Atrios | Huff Post: David Corn, David Mamet | Wampum | TalkLeft | Fact-esque | All Spin Zone | Susie Madrak