There are many reasons that Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. That mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie are among my list of all-time top ten favorite foods certainly helps, as does having extra days off to visit family and friends, many of whom I haven't seen for over a year. A double dose of Thursday football also helps (it would be triple if the NFL would realize that the NFL Network experiment is an unmitigated disaster). But the same reasons are true for me of holidays such as Christmas or the Fourth of July (minus the football), and yet there is a particular element of Thanksgiving that makes it a particularly American holiday. Thanksgiving, it turns out, is a time when Americans recognize that we all have so much to be thankful for that we often take for granted during the rest of the year: a peaceful and stable civil society, opportunity, and, perhaps most of all, unifying hope for a better future for all of us.
It is this last character of the United States that makes me think that Thanksgiving has the potential to be a truly progressive holiday; that is, not a holiday for Big-P Progressives, but a holiday when the country remembers and reflects upon its inherently progressive values of community, equality, and the promise of opportunity to make a better life for ourselves and future generations. It is also a uniquely American holiday (sorry Canadian Thanksgiving that takes place in October). As the Christian Science Monitor proclaimed today:
By the time Abraham Lincoln declared it an annual holiday in 1863, Thanksgiving Day had evolved to become an ongoing measure of the American character for generosity, or acts of humble giving to others out of a gratitude for the goodness of God.
Most often, this "ongoing measure of the American character for generosity" is seen in the millions of Americans who volunteer their resources, food, and time to help feed the hungry and needy on this actual holiday, and throughout the holiday season. But our character of generosity is also measured in our welcoming nature, encapsulated in our national motto, e pluribus unum, out of many, one. It is measured in the common belief that in order to live better lives, we need to make our community and country better for everyone in it, so that each of us not only fight for our right to pursue happiness for ourselves, but also fight to create a more perfect Union, that is, a better community.
The American character, as reflected in Thanksgiving, is one of progress.
Much more eloquently, from the President:
As Americans, we hail from every part of the world. While we observe traditions from every culture, Thanksgiving Day is a unique national tradition we all share. Its spirit binds us together as one people, each of us thankful for our common blessings.
As we gather once again among loved ones, let us also reach out to our neighbors and fellow citizens in need of a helping hand. This is a time for us to renew our bonds with one another, and we can fulfill that commitment by serving our communities and our nation throughout the year.
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