During a recent White House press briefing,
Press Secretary Josh Earnest suggested that gun control would make a great
topic of conversation for families gathered for dinner this Thanksgiving: “As
people sitting around the Thanksgiving table talking about these issues, as
they should and I’m sure they will all across the country, I hope that’s a
question that will be raised and asked by members around the table.”
This is as bad a suggestion as President Barack
Obama’s tweet just before Thanksgiving two years ago, when he was trying to sell
Obamacare to the American public: “When your loved ones get together this
holiday season, remember to talk to them about health insurance.”
Um, no. Regardless of your position on health
care, gun control, or any other political hot topic du jour, Thanksgiving dinner is arguably the worst hour or two of any
given year to try to engage in a serious political discussion with loved ones,
some of whom might have traveled from afar and whom you don’t even see the
entire rest of the year. Don’t spend those precious hours potentially rubbing
them the wrong way because the government wants you to take that opportunity to
evangelize to them about gun control.
The one topic of conversation guaranteed to
divide us is politics. Even religion generally isn’t as contentious or as
common a subject. But even if every single person at the holiday gathering
agrees on a given political issue, this is not the appropriate time to discuss
it. Thanksgiving should be for the personal, not the political.
The cast members of Saturday Night Live apparently agree with me. Last weekend they put
on “A Thanksgiving Miracle” skit in which family members preparing to break
bread begin to share what they’re each thankful for, but they quickly begin quarreling
about immigration, police brutality, and the presidential election.
“Thanksgiving can be hard,” a title card reads. “Everyone has different
opinions and beliefs. But there’s one thing that unites us all…” That thing is
Adele’s new hit single “Hello,” the playing of which causes the SNL family instantly to throw aside
their differences and lip-sync in full Adele-video mode – wind-blown blonde hair,
lacquered nails, and all.
I’m skeptical that even group karaoke to Adele’s
music can bring all Americans together, but the one thing that definitely can
and should unite us all on this and every Thanksgiving is simple gratitude. Americans
in the 21st century are like the lottery jackpot winners of history.
Even in its current precarious state, America and its citizens are blessed
beyond all reckoning, and Thanksgiving is a day to be humbled with gratitude
for the peace and prosperity that, by and large, we enjoy.
It shouldn’t even be necessary to say this,
but considering the heightened political tension these days and the fact that
our government is actually nudging us to obsess over a political agenda at the
dinner table, perhaps it bears emphasizing: This holiday, set aside any
discussion of gun control, health care, the presidential campaigns, Black Lives
Matter, terrorism, immigration, and all the rest for another day, and focus on
thankfulness.
If you must debate something, make it no more
serious than whether the Bears will be able to take down the Packers that
afternoon (they won’t). If you’re a high school or college student, resist the
urge to share with everyone what you were taught about the evil Puritans waging
genocide against the noble Native Americans. If you’re the family vegan, resist
the temptation to lecture everyone at the table piling their plates with turkey
breast that “Meat is murder.”
Instead, be grateful that you and your loved
ones are sharing each other’s presence. Take turns around the table expressing
something personal for which you are grateful. Cultivate a habit of gratitude
year-round. It will inspire you to help others who are less fortunate, for
gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, wrote Cicero, “it is the parent
of all the others.” You will be a happier, healthier, better person for it, and
the world will be a better place.
And that’s good politics.
From Acculturated, 11/26/15
