Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving about what and to whom?

Traditional societal holidays are clung to by those who benefit from a traditional, conservative society. They are ceremonies of validation. They are fortifications of conformity. Since these holidays have a core value of generosity and fraternity, they are far from offensive, even to social outsiders. However, the degree to which these holidays excite and amuse is proportional to the socioeconomic status of the celebrants.

Could we have an annual holiday of self-evaluation, honesty or meditation? Would those in power support a measure to give everyone the day off for these activities, which do not entail buying food or consumer goods?

Thanksgiving is like the celebration of a successful dice game. If the genetic and socioeconomic variables of your birth and subsequent life are lucky, you might be more prone to be thankful. However, if your variables have been most unlucky, Thanksgiving may well seem a hollow gesture. Many rush to religion in the latter situation. Imaginary friends, judgmental deities, these support a delusion that life has some humanly rational underpinnings. This is simply balm or opiate.

If society were truly human, in the fullest and finest sense, every member of it would indeed have great reason to be thankful every day of the year.

Holidays

In the early days of human development, people lived in small tribal groups. Life was hard. Nature was a mysterious enemy or friend, depending on the season and the weather. Periodic rites (precursors of holidays) were devised to bring tribes together for common purpose to benefit the tribe's survival and possible prosperity.

We no longer live in tribal groups. We no longer live in villages or other cohesive community groups based on simple proximity. Holidays, as they are today, have been taken over by the capitalist machine to sell things. That's all they are: Sales opportunities. People in capitalist countries are brainwashed by commercial media to buy airline tickets, buy gas, buy presents, buy unusual foods in huge amounts, buy alcoholic beverages, etc.. If you doubt this, go to a store on the day before a major holiday or just turn on a television.

Every day is actually the same. Every day is an opportunity for personal growth. Wasting time, energy and money fulfilling your indoctrinated role to make some fat cat richer is rather pathetic. It is a waste of your human potential. It is hollow ritual.

Perhaps your holiday could be spent in meditation, in fasting, in serving someone else who is disabled or impoverished or simply alone in the world. Perhaps you could spend your holiday writing letters/emails to all the government officials who wrongly support war, bigotry, exploitation of the poor and preferential treatment to the wealthy. Think what would happen if even a small percentage of the population did that on every holiday.