I've always liked Thanksgiving because it's about food, family, and being grateful. Nothing else, nothing less. No one argues what it's about. No one gets angry about Thanksgiving. There's never any controversy. Yes, people can talk about the First Peoples and their fate, but no one's actually angry at the holiday itself in the way people are about Halloween and Christmas.
To me, Thanksgiving has and always has been about Interdependence.
Dependence is relying on someone when they don't rely on you, whether you accept that or not. It's being a burden. Dependence is unhealthy, but thankfully Americans don't value this. People like to point fingers at groups in America and call them dependent, but everyone agrees that dependent is something you don't want to be.
Independence is not relying on anyone but yourself for anything. It's a nice sentiment, and it's one that's venerated in America, but it's an idea that-- and here's the kicker, folks-- doesn't exist. It can't exist. But people shoot for it anyway, and that's when it gets unhealthy.
I see people all the time saying things like "I don't need nobody but myself," and then they get lonely and wonder why they're single. Both men and women do this, of all races and creeds. It's because we've lifted the idea of Independence up so much that personally, I think our perception of the world is messed up a little.
In reality, we need people, and we can't do anything alone. We rely on emotional support from friends and family. We rely on people to do their jobs, and for people to treat us fairly. We rely on the infrastructures and systems we are a part of to work. We rely on our communities to help raise our children.
It's a personal belief of mine that we are the sum total of every person we ever meet in our lives, and every experience we ever have, combined into one. This idea is what people mean when they say "America is a melting pot," and it's not just America. It's the world. Everyone is everyone.
The food on your plates this Thanksgiving went through a lot to go through your digestive tract. It was scratched out of the ground, cleaned, processed, inspected, shipped, marketed, sold, transported, cooked, and served. This happens to every morsel eaten and every liquid drank every day since you were born.
Thanksgiving is a holiday set aside once every year to celebrate Interdependence. Interdependence is another word for love, but on a grand scale. Personally, I think it wouldn't hurt us to acknowledge and embrace this a little bit every day. Maybe then we wouldn't argue so damn much.
That's why I encourage you to share your leftovers with your neighbors for #LeftoversDay the day after #Thanksgiving instead of trampling some elderly stocking clerk to death on #BlackFriday. Humble request. Just think about it.
-Morgan
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