Thanksgiving is the best holiday on the American calendar. It applies to everyone, there are no presents involved, and even if Black Friday is coming, it hasn't arrived just yet. It brings us together as does no other day and can be celebrated whether you were born in this country or arrived last Tuesday.
Sure, the tradition—at least in the movies—is for families to gather and hate each other, but not only is that an overplayed trope, it doesn't consider just how sleepy everyone is from the tryptophane and alcohol that are part and parcel of the celebratory meal. How much can anyone hate anyone with a stomach that full?
And this year, there are many things to be grateful for. I know it doesn't look like it at first glance. There are wars being fought and fears they may grow. There are global rivalries, that are, if not hot, scary and point to a dangerous future.
Will Israel and Hamas fight until the last baby is slaughtered? We must face the truth that while the war looks lopsided now, offer Hamas the chance and more Israeli children will die. Will Lebanon-based Hezbollah join the fight against Israel? Will the United States need to face off directly with the cult of death that runs Iran?
And if the Middle East doesn't get us, perhaps China will. Against all reason, Chinese leader Xi Jinping has decided the world needs more nuclear weapons. A bigger deterrent, as if their hundreds of nukes aren't scary in themselves. How many bombs does it take to be scary? One is enough. One bomb will do the trick. Thousands more merely ensure the radioactive grease spot that was humanity will be... well, a radioactive grease spot.
And Russia, of course, is fighting a war against Ukraine—a war for which the United States and European Union are paying half. A war for democracy where very little democracy may actually be involved. In case you think the war is in some way sane, face the fact that Russia is fighting it with psychopathic murderers that would strike Hannibal Lecter as beyond the pale.
At home, people are scared to death about their way of life, which is being attacked from so many angles that it's hard to keep track.
For decades, people have felt worse off than their parents. And in some ways they are, despite enjoying luxuries and technologies the Greatest Generation could only dream about. There is the feeling of being left behind as the top of the pyramid reaches into the clouds while the people inhabiting it no longer have any idea what lies below them. Those better off have always been with us, but rarely have they been so far from the muck of everyday life. Flying in economy to and from your family this Thanksgiving gives you a sense, certainly, of the divide between that haves and have nots.
Stability at work is virtually unheard of. Keeping a job from one year to the next is the stuff of legends for many. And the flip side of that is that customer service—such a staple of the service economy that we long ago became—has gone to hell. Nobody wants to work crappy service jobs and that makes the service ever more crappy.
(But by no means consider allowing in immigrants who will do these jobs for the price of air. Keep them out at all costs!)
We've reached that point in the column where you're probably expecting sarcasm and an admonition to enjoy your holiday—if you dare!
Nope. This is the part of the story where we get to express some real gratitude.
Former President Donald Trump and the end of democracy loom on the horizon (He's saying it himself, folks, believe it!), but there's still plenty of time to act and room for hope. People may yet see that when someone tells you Freedom Is Slavery, you might want to look for another option at the ballot box. We must vote it to make it so, and 2024 hasn't even arrived, yet. President Biden may triumph—or not be on the ticket, allowing someone not older than my grandfather when he died to serve in the highest office in the land.
And, as much as we all fear economic uncertainty, it's hard to beat an unemployment rate that stands below 4 percent and has for quite a while. It's encouraging to see that at least some of the country's infrastructure issues are being addressed, that we're making some small efforts to fight climate change, to make medicines somewhat more affordable, to stand up to our enemies around the globe.
Sure, the forces of medieval darkness—left and right—are trying to draw us away from the light with book bans, the resurgence of antisemitism, and an ignorance of history that is simply astounding.
But the fight isn't over. There is a chance that light and freedom will triumph, that we'll fight for the elements of society that are worth fighting for and push back Trump and the other Republican presidential candidates: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley (who seems awful nice, but isn't), and the charlatan Vivek Ramaswamy. Justice may be done and Trump may rot in jail for the rest of his miserable life (won't happen).
This is a Thanksgiving of uncertainties and opportunities. A holiday that allows for hope.
Enjoy it and enjoy your turkey.
Jason Fields is a deputy opinion editor at Newsweek and the author of the murder mystery Death in Twilight.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
