Thanksgiving can be a controversial national holiday. But what in America isn’t controversial? People are becoming so nit-picky that, one day, cops will issue citations for walking too fast. We should leave Thanksgiving alone before our break gets revoked. Here’s why.
I think in today’s day and age, Thanksgiving is what you make of it—similar to Kanye West’s incorporation of the Confederate Flag as a part of his Yeezus tour. During an interview on 97.1 Amp Radio, West’s responded by saying, “I took the Confederate flag and made it my flag.”
Many do the same with Thanksgiving. There’s a history behind both the flag and the holiday. But the core meaning and values are relatively debatable. Some feel the flag ultimately stands for slavery, while others believe it represents Southern pride, heritage and states’ rights. Thanksgiving can also be interpreted differently.
Let’s look at the history, for instance. According to the History Channel, Sara Josepha Hale, author of Mary had a Little Lamb, wrote the story of Thanksgiving in the 19th Century. Almost two centuries after the first feast, Hale read up on the first Harvest and decided to write her own version of Thanksgiving: the one most widely known today about Pilgrims and Native Americans celebrating in Harmony.
Hale was revolutionary. Writing Mary had a Little Lamb made her like the Lady Gaga of her time. Those verses were so far out, the industry may have blacklisted her—and that’s probably why it took her campaign nearly 30 years to make Thanksgiving a national holiday.
Some people find Hale’s story offensive or inaccurate. Either way, our Capitalistic society eagerly found a way to profit off the promotion of such a good-natured story. We have parades and retail stores filled with special décor. It’s an American tradition that has evolved over the years.
Many of the traditions are pretty absurd in my opinion, like pardoning a turkey. Why not pardon incarcerates serving time for non-violent, non-theft, non-rape and/or non-murderous crimes like the President does at the end of his term.
For me and many others I know, Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful, to enjoy family and friends and to appreciate the things you have in life. Yes, some are more fortunate than others and the less fortunate may seemingly have less to be thankful for. But everyone deserves to give thanks and after an entire year of hoping and praying for something new, Thanksgiving makes you proud of what you have.
