Thankful Thanksgivings, or My Triple Play
Commentary
Was—or is—Thanksgiving a special family day in your family? The popularity of Thanksgiving isn’t surprising when one ponders its advantageous preconditions: nonsectarian (believers and atheists accept a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on religious matters), no holiday gift-giving (or raised eyebrows about comparative generosity/miserliness), and relatively brief (just a weekend with no big month-long run up), plus a nonpolitical sentiment hard to argue with (“More gratitude all around? Sure, I can manage an extra helping of that! And hey! Pass the pumpkin pie!”).
Indeed, I’m reminded that my dogmatic atheist friend, the dearly departed Christopher Hitchens—who became an American citizen not long before his death a decade ago—once proposed that all religious holidays be abolished and that Thanksgiving be put in their place, along with permanently grounding “that arrogant bald predator” as the national bird in favor of “the thrifty and industrious turkey.” The national motto on our legal tender, added Christopher, would also get a makeover, though he was divided over whether he preferred the rather poetic “On Wings of Turkeys” or the more prosaic yet official-sounding “Legal Turkeys.”…