WHY GIVE THANKS?

Sarah Josepha Hale, a writer, editor, and early advocate of education for women, and an opponent of slavery, (who was the author of the children’s poem “Mary had a Little Lamb”) had waged a decades-long campaign for Thanksgiving to be a national day, as opposed to being observed only by some states and on different days.

In 1860, surely sentient of the extreme, looming divide, she wrote, “Everything that contributes to bind us in one vast empire [sic] together, to quicken the sympathy that makes us feel from the icy North to the sunny South that we are one family, each a member of a great and free Nation, not merely the unit of a remote locality, is worthy of being cherished. We have sought to reawaken and increase this sympathy, believing that the fine filaments of the affections are stronger than laws to keep the Union of our States sacred in the hearts of our people….”

In the midst of the War of the Rebellion, on October 3, 1863, President Abraham LIncoln signed the “Thanksgiving Proclamation” setting aside the “last Thursday of November next” as a national day of Thanksgiving.

In the midst of a war which ultimately claimed the lives of 600,000 Americans, the President wrote:

“The year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature that they cannot fail to penetrate and even soften the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God….

“No human counsel hath devised, nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.”

And in the concluding paragraph, “And I recommend to them that, while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners, or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty hand to heal the wounds of the nation, and to restore it, as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes, to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility, and union.”

Can you imagine today, any recent leader of the United States or the European Union calling for “humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience?”

What is the idea of Thanksgiving? When we thank a person, and more so when we thank the Creator, we acknowledge that we are not omnipotent. It is an act of humility, and even more so when we have not deserved the gift which has been given to us, as Lincoln was well aware.

This is completely different from the “grading on the curve” attitude which has perverted all sense of judgment and allows individuals to rationalize completely unacceptable behavior. “Well, I know I punched Johnny in the face, but at least I didn’t also cut off his legs.” That is not the standard of justice, and is why Christ told His followers, “Be ye also perfect, as your Father in Heaven is perfect.” That is the standard by which to judge ourselves, and by which we must admit that we have much work to do. This is not only for Christians—500 years before Christ, Confucius wrote in his Analects 4:17, “When you see a good person, think of becoming like her/him. When you see someone not so good, reflect on your own weak points.”

If we view our fellow human beings from the perspective of the never-to-be-attained quest for perfection, it is quickly apparent that we are each equally distant from that goal. This is why it is possible for people from different nations, religions, languages, and history to unite for a shared vision of the future in which mankind has advanced to a higher state of existence than before.

The billionaire elites thrive as long as they can keep us identifying someone else as less virtuous than ourselves, and this includes not only asylum-seekers, or Palestinians, or people who are homeless, but also people who may have committed terrible crimes. Think of the ugliness of the culture of inflicting horrible pain and suffering on another human being, and self-righteously proclaiming, “That’ll teach ‘em!” History has proven time and time again that those who seek to rule by force, very quickly bring about their own end, and sometimes, the end of entire civilizations.

Perhaps during this Thanksgiving and Holiday season, we can dispense with the foolish lie, “Peace Through Strength,” and study poetry instead.