Thanksgiving Forgotten

We had a big get together over this Thanksgiving Holiday and in the middle of it all it seems like we forgot what this Holiday is all about. Oh, sure, during the prayers over the meals we all said the words about how we must give thanks for what we have and how fortunate we are to live in such a free country, blah, blah, blah.

What I mostly saw was people trying to take control. It always happens in any family gathering. One or more of the gathered siiblings will attempt to structure and lead the entire group while the group generally wants to go and watch football. Another sibling (or sibling-in-law) attempts to wrest control of the group from the alpha sibling and as such, tensions are high and stupid decisions are made.

A for instance: Sibling A wants a fried turkey along with the two smoked turkeys and baked turkey. Sibling a acquires a huge pan from sibling G who also agrees to fry a turkey. However, $50 worth of oil and two more turkeys are purchased and the ENTIRE family must wait to eat until these two "fryers" are done. All because the wanna-be Alpha sibling "thought a fried turkey would be a nice touch." Everyone else is irritated, hungry and snippy.

All the while, nobody seems to remember how nice it is to live in a country where you can go and pick up an extra turkey just 'cause ya want to. This means you've got the money, the turkey's available, you've got the transportation, the permission and the trust in the merchant that you'll get a fair product for the price. That doesn't happen in about 90-percent of the countries on this planet.

And I'd say about 90-percent of U.S. citizens do not even realize it.

-- Mordekai