Gratitude and grief go hand-in-hand this Thanksgiving
By Cheryl Hannigan, Wellsville NY
I love Thanksgiving – mostly for the food – but have you ever noticed what a selfish holiday it can be? Go around the table asking each person to say what they are most thankful for, and what do you usually hear? My job is going well. I have a nice home, good food, and a loving family. My health has been good this year. I have a new grandchild. My husband got a promotion. My nephew got into his first-choice college.
Now, there’s nothing wrong with all that. We should be thankful for the good things that have happened to us personally. And of course, there are people who step outside their own insular world to serve a community meal or collect food and warm clothing for a local pantry. We are, after all, good people and not completely self-absorbed.
This year, however, I will be thinking about so much more than all the nice little blessings that make my life so good. I’ll be thinking about the people who have lost their jobs, the businesses that have gone under, the families with fathers and sons who have simply disappeared. I’ll be mourning the country I love where every norm, standard and tradition – and even the Peoples’ House itself – are under attack from within.
This year I will be thankful for the millions of citizens who are waking up, showing up and standing up for America as it could be and should be, and God willing, will be again.
