(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Thanksgiving Tables Considered [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2024-11-30 Another Thanksgiving Day has arrived. Though we have snow that makes the world look fresh and new, it cannot completely hide the discord of this moment. We count our blessings, those people and critters that enrich our lives: the Flame Point Siamese cat lying in a circle on the bed in the soft sunlight that streams in through the window and the German Shepherd, almost full grown, who lays down in the kitchen to be near her people as they prepare dinner. Later, the Bernese Mountain Dog will arrive, 100 hundred pounds of joy, with our daughter and her partner. The dogs will romp and play-fight in the snow until they tire. Our younger daughter helps in the kitchen, and my wife sets the table with a Thanksgiving theme. My thoughts, however, imagine other Thanksgiving tables on this day. I think of the Thanksgiving table where there will be two empty seats because a daughter and her husband are so distraught with the results of the election that they cannot bear to be in the presence of their conservative family, who are ecstatic over Trump’s reelection. They stay home and do not celebrate. I think of the Thanksgiving table of the Black couple in a red state in the South. The woman is pregnant, but she has been experiencing difficulties. Instead of thanksgiving, there is a sense of dread that she will be denied life-saving health services if things really go wrong with her pregnancy. How sad that what should be a time of amazing joy is riddled with fear. I think of the Thanksgiving table of a family of two women and two children. They try to be happy for their children on this special family holiday. Still, they can’t stop wondering if somehow their marriage will be legally reversed in the new America and if they will be discriminated against at work. They also worry about their daughter, who has learning disabilities. They had to fight to get her special education services. Will these disappear if the Department of Education is abolished? One Thanksgiving table features a military family with three high-school-age children. Thanksgiving had always been a day of gratitude and patriotism. The father left military service, but the mother is still serving. A combat pilot in the Air Force with the rank of Major, she has been serving for 15 years and planned to stay in for 20. She is very angry about the possibility of Pete Hegseth serving as Secretary of the Department of Defense, given his attitudes about and treatment of women. This Thanksgiving has far less joy than in the past. There is the table of the Native American family. They used to celebrate Thanksgiving to fit in, but they stopped. Though it is a Day of Mourning, they decided some years ago to observe this day in gratitude for the harvest with traditional foods and prayers. Today, they are preparing a bison roast, a Three Sisters dish of corn, beans, and squash, flatbread, and more. Then, there is the Thanksgiving table of the mixed-status family. They loved Thanksgiving in past years. It featured a small turkey for tradition, but they really enjoyed the pork roast, refried beans, tamales, tortillas, corn casserole, and rice. The father, who has been in America for 20 years, is undocumented. They are terrified about the possibility of Trump departing him. How will they survive without him, or will they all be deported? These tables temper my thanksgiving. I am still thankful while mindful of how and why this Thanksgiving is hard. I do not take America for granted. I take it with gratitude. I am thankful for the First Peoples and the wisdom they offer; I am thankful for the waves of immigrants over time and the sacrifices they made; I am thankful for the military and the sacrifices they have made over generations to keep America safe; I am thankful for all the Blacks who still believe in America despite being given so few reasons to do so; and I am thankful for so many others. While, with Thoreau, “my thanksgiving is perpetual,” I am aware of what is at stake in the months and years ahead. So, I will praise and protest for as long as I am able. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/11/30/2289497/-Thanksgiving-Tables-Considered?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/