On Thanks and Wonder

We call this day Thanksgiving.  It began when a group of ill-prepared religious fanatics migrated across an ocean, purportedly for the freedom to practice their beliefs unfettered by government.  As the historical record demonstrates, the group quickly devolved to standard thoughtless operating procedure, pursuing freedom by restricting other people's choices.  You are free to do as I say.

Oh, and thanks for showing us how to survive, Native Person, whose ways are so inferior.  Um, God must have wanted you to survive so we could arrive here and boss you around.  Yeah, that's it.  

One would think surviving an ocean voyage, exploring an awe-inspiring American landscape, and meeting new people with unique ways might inspire this intrepid lot to be open to new possibilities, other realities.  But instead they clung to parochial notions of righteousness, the damned and the saved, and arrogant ideas of superiority and inferiority, us versus them, in an eternal struggle for God's favor.  Did this same God not supposedly create all we see and experience?  How hard was it to acknowledge the value of the totality of creation?

To this day, this ability to be truly reverent still escapes most humans.  It does not require belief in a deity to be awestruck by the sheer magnitude of the unknown universe, to be grateful for all you encounter, the happy experiences and unhappy days.  Every major religion highlights awe and gratitude as central tenets, yet so few practice these concepts in any coherent manner.

Judgment comes more naturally; withholding assistance and failing to share are observed on a daily basis, especially at the institutional level, where great power lies.  Like the Pilgrims of yesteryear, with their biblical commandments and business values (wealth does represent God's favor, ya know), contemporary people in power focus exclusively on rules and regulations, measures and data, today expressed through pie charts and power point.  Humans are reduced to creatures to be manipulated and managed, extracted from and deleted.  Like the Natives of our not-so-long-ago history, humanity in general is now seen as an impediment to the chosen few and their quest to command and consume. 

Spend this day of Thanks not being manipulated by Consumer Culture.  Don't eat a turkey, unnaturally raised, unable even to stand before it is stunned and throat slit.  Don't watch football.  Ritualized violence is precisely what the Christian martyrs gave their lives to stop.  Don't shop.  If you have money and time to shop on a day of rest, you have everything you need.  Be with your friends and family.  Give them your full attention.  Make memories filled with music and storytelling, and expressions of true gratitude for other people's contributions to your life.  Give service to those who don't have homes or families or warmth.  Remember the least amongst society, for their well-being is the true measure of any culture. 

Pope Francis has exhorted Christians to resist corporate consumer capitalism.  While I am not as convinced as he that God exists, I think if there is such a deity, he is speaking through this man this week.  I hope the flock is listening.

Thanks to you all for reading these words.