Thanksgiving, 2023

Happy Thanksgiving!

I've been writing this blog since 2006, and some of you - masochists that you are - have been reading it for much of that time. You've learned many things about me over the years, one of which is that Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. In a crazy world in which we too often focus on fear, negativity, and the material things in life, it's good to have a day on which to sit back and reflect on the things for which we can be truly thankful.

We’re living in a scary time in which it’s easy to be distracted from things for which we can be thankful, because there is so much going on that is awful, and so many people who keep relentlessly reminding us of it (yes, GOP and Faux News, I'm talking to you). For me, this year the awful things included:

A political party and its media machine that continues relentlessly to weaponize fear and hatred, which accepts - and, indeed, praises and amplifies - the most coarse, violent, and angry discourse, and which works tirelessly to undermine a political system it cannot win in a fair contest of ideas and policies;

Americans who are willing to believe the most outrageous and dangerous hogwash because they trust a lunatic proven liar and would-be dictator;

The continuing horror of realizing that many Americans freely accept frequent mass murder - even of little children - as an acceptable price to pay for their unrestricted "right to keep and bear arms;" 

Diseases we thought long conquered which have returned, largely because ignorant fools conflate the responsibility for public health with Government overreach and unacceptable limits on their “freedom;”

A flawed legal system in which the availability of justice is directly related to one’s skin color, political connections, and ability to pay astronomical legal fees far in excess of what ordinary people can afford; and,

A changing climate that is denied by those unwilling to see the obvious truth around them.

That all sounds pretty bad, and it is, but on the whole, though, it’s actually been a pretty good year for me. Although there have been some negatives, I have to consider myself a lucky man for a lot of reasons:

Surviving the pandemic for another year (although yes, mild cases of Covid did catch us this summer);

The patient and long-suffering love of a beautiful and amazingly talented wife;

Three loving and successful children of whom I am justly and endlessly proud;

Six adorable, intelligent, talented, and loving grandchildren;

A large and loving extended family;

A comfortable retirement;

A roof over my head;

Good health, including the medical marvel of the new knee I received back in March;

Good friends (yes, all of you are included);

The ability to write what I wish in this space without worrying about government censorship;

The freedom to worship (or not) as I find meaningful, free to ignore those who insist that their way is the only way and their scripture the only scripture, and that I must follow their path or suffer the consequences; and, 

The good fortune to have been born in the United States of America - a country which, for all its faults, gives me the opportunity to enjoy all of the above;

I have many things to be thankful for on this Thanksgiving Day, and it's only proper that I should take a few minutes to acknowledge that I am, as ever, most richly blessed.

I wish all of you, Dear Readers, Friends, the very happiest, healthiest, and safest of holidays.

Have a good day. Give thanks for the good things you have and the bad things you don't. 

More thoughts tomorrow, when we offer the final collection of Great Moments in Editing and Signage for the month.

Bilbo