Thanksgiving as a Day of Atonement

[Better Believe It]

Thanksgiving as a Day of Atonement
by Jennifer Browdy de Hernandez
November 24, 2011

I don’t really expect Americans to give up the tradition of the jolly Thanksgiving feast. But we do need to be mindful of the real historical background behind the custom of gathering to celebrate with family and friends.

American Thanksgiving is a holiday that honors the spirit of sharing the bounty. When we dig into that heaped plate today, we should be giving thanks to the rich Earth that has nourished human beings for millennia, and for the Native peoples of this continent, who learned how to live in harmony with the flora and fauna of this place, cultivating the first corn, beans and squash, and craftily culling the abundant indigenous turkeys.

And we should pause in our feast to reflect on the ignoble history that unfolded after that original Thanksgiving in Plymouth MA, where America repaid her hosts not with honor, but with persecution, scorn and hate.

In the act of repentance springs redemption. The indigenous people of this continent are not gone–they are alive and well and living among us. Let us raise a glass to them today and give them the honor and thanks they deserve.

Please read the full article at:

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/11/24-2

[lunatica]

1. I know quite a few Native Americans and they celebrate Thanksgiving too

I think it would be nice if we thanked the planet and made a promise to take care of it. To the extent that we have anything to be thankful for, it is entirely because of our planet.

[Quartermass]

2. I'm Cherokee

The only thing I love about Thanksgiving is the food.

Otherwise, I hate the holiday and wish it were something else. It's a complete sham to me.

[Abin Sur]

3. Giving thanks to Native Americans? Sure! Giving thanks to the Earth? Absurd.

Why should one express gratitude to something that isn't sentient?

[xchrom]

4. invisible rec. nt