I was struggling with some personal "demons" in the mid-1990s, so I turned to some like-minded people for help. One of my new friends, who was helping me through a particularly difficult evening, suggested I consider adopting a more positive outlook toward life. That's something I wasn't inclined to do at the time, so the suggestion wasn't well-received.
"Have you ever thought about gratitude?" my friend asked. My answer came reflexively. "Hey, you know what?" I said. "F**k gratitude!"
Like an old Irish cop, he said with a laugh: "So, it's gonna be like that, is it?" Well, yeah, I guess it is, I said sheepishly. Change comes harder for some of us than it does for others.
Thanksgiving is the holiday of gratitude, and some of us only learned the value of that emotion reluctantly. Gratitude is a healing force, a spiritual practice, a muscle that needs to be used over and over before it can be exercised naturally and gracefully.
Yeah, yeah. We get it. But then what? What do we do with all this gratitude once we've channeled it? Do we turn into Barney replicants and wander the landscape singing "I love you, you love me" until we meet the inevitable fate of all dinosaurs (purple or otherwise)?
That's where the really important work comes in, the old texts say. Gratitude is fine, but the received wisdom says it's not the endgame. It's supposed to make a person willing to be of service to others. In other words, it starts a process that only culminates when other people feel grateful - for you.
Instead, spiritual paths often lead people into a "persistent meditative state," a luxury of the wealthy few that often leaves them disinterested in helping the less fortunate.
The Religious Right, for its part, is busy trying to convince people that Thanksgiving - maybe even gratitude itself - is their own copyrighted concept. Jonathan Falwell, for example, wrote this to his followers the other day:
"Thanksgiving is the perfect time to understand the Judeo-Christian history of our nation. Our forefathers were not uneasy about openly thanking God for His blessings or beseeching Him in times of trouble. Our nation is deeply rooted in Christianity and candid expressions of faith.And Newt Gingrich sent out an email entitled "A History of Thanksgiving" that included these words:
"I urge readers across the nation to ensure that their children and grandchildren understand the Judeo-Christian heritage of our nation. There are many who wish to ignore and/or rewrite our history as our nation further embraces secularism."
"This Thanksgiving, it's time to ensure that every young American and every immigrant who would become a new citizen learn about the historic origins and meaning of Thanksgiving ... Historically, Thanksgiving is about renewing the bond between Americans and their Creator. It's a time when we are reminded that our rights come from God and that we have responsibilities to God as free citizens ...Every state should adopt laws requiring the teaching of the real history and meaning of Thanksgiving in the schools."Can a Fox News special about "The War on Thanksgiving" be far behind?
Both Rev. Falwell and Mr. Gingrich want Americans to get an education in Thanksgiving theology, but here's a fact neither of them want in the curriculum: Many of the Founders were Deists. That means they were dedicated to the Enlightenment principles of reason and natural rights, and skeptical about the idea of a "micro-manager" God. They didn't believe in a rule-making deity who intervenes directly in human affairs.
The Founders often used religious language to drum up votes at election time, just like today's politicians. Adams played the "faith card" relentlessly against Jefferson in two elections, despite having Deist beliefs himself. Jefferson denied the charges, but wrote the miracle-redacted "Jefferson Bible" years later. Many of the founders used the word "God" the way Spinoza used it, as a placeholder for the mysterious and beautiful principle that drives the universe and its laws.
In matters of civics, too, the Founding Fathers broke with tradition and "embraced secularism" when they demanded freedom of thought and religion. And while those freedoms may be under siege, the fact that they're still with us calls for some big-time gratitude. Not the kind that leads to passive contentment, but the other kind - the kind that leads to doing as well as being.
My days of saying "f**k gratitude" are over. For one thing, I'm trying to clean up my language. This isn't the Senate floor, after all, and I'm not Dick Cheney. And some of us have come to understand that gratitude has its place.
Here's a guess where gratitude's rightful place might be found: right before "action."
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RJ Eskow at the Huffington Post
One form of action is check-writing. Actblue/Blue America is a good place to start if you're a Democrat, and People for the American Way supports the pluralist and tolerant values of the Founders.
Follow Richard (RJ) Eskow on Twitter: www.twitter.com/rjeskow
Kenneth C. Davis: Busting Thanksgiving Myths
There you go. All well said, RJ. Thanks.
Check out the prolific action man and founding father Ben Franklin's Inventory sometime.
There are plenty of ways to do that. For openers, I'd urge you to check out a great book "Seasons of Grace: the Life-Giving Practive of Gratitude" by Jones and O'Neil (I'm too lazy to look up their full names).
For me, Buddhist practice helps me experience gratitude and a positive sprituality, and mentally deal with the gaggles of mindless religiouse conservatives, many of whom believe GWB is President because it is the will of Jesus Christ.
By the way, Gingrich and Falwell's offspring are writing for those minnions who are already drinking the religious right kool-aid. Thanksgiving has proven refreshingly free of the collective "Put Christ back into Christmas" / "Jesus is the Reason for the Season" mental illness will permeate the media from now until Dec. 25.
So, give yourself a great present this Winter Soltice ;-) and check out that "Seasons of Grace" book, and if you dare, "Mindfulness in Plain English" by Bhante Gunaratana. You'll be glad you did!!
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Thanks for sharing, does not get any better than that. Seems once again we are in the same stream of consciousness with regard to our beloved Republic. (and that "stinking thinking" part too) :) Agape.
No, they embraced neutrality. As a result, our nation is neither secular nor religious. In spite of the endless claims to the contrary.
Is it some sort of attempt at combining gentility with good ol' sewer mouth?
If so, I don't think it's working.
In fact, it's f**ckin' ridiculous, otay?
In 1637 near present day Groton, Connecticut, over 700 men, women and children of the Pequot Tribe had gathered for their annual Green Corn Festival which is our Thanksgiving celebration. In the predawn hours the sleeping Indians were surrounded by English and Dutch mercenaries who ordered them to come outside. Those who came out were shot or clubbed to death while the terrified women and children who huddled inside the longhouse were burned alive. The next day the governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony declared "A Day Of Thanksgiving" because 700 unarmed men, women and children had been murdered.
To hell with what the preachers think we should be thankful for, and to hell with them too.