Giving thanks

I'm grateful for both what I have and what I'm not.

It’s time to give thanks, though we should probably do so on an ongoing basis. Still, Thanksgiving reminds us to stop for a minute and remember our blessings. We can also ponder the wisdom of a network that thought people wanted to spend an afternoon of gathering and reflection watching the Detroit Lions.

First, I want say that I am grateful for my family. I’ve spent most of my life raising kids and they’ve given me joy, wisdom, and frustration—I mean, patience. My grandchildren remind me of the continuity of life and our responsibility to the next generation. They reflect my hope for the future, offering a bit of optimism even when times are dark.

My siblings have been among my greatest influences and closest confidants. Our uniquely shared experience gives us a common understanding of the world that’s hard to replicate. We are the product of growing up in a particular household with its own myths, prejudices, and values that have shaped who we are today.

I’m thankful for parents who led us by example more than discipline. They taught us empathy and compassion and the ability to think for our selves. They gave us a healthy curiosity about the world. They also showed us that we have an obligation to our community and that we should stand up for what we believe, even if doing so is difficult. They taught us to live by the Golden Rule and to remember that “There but for the grace of God go I.”

I am thankful for all of those things, but, today, I am especially thankful that I am not a Republican. I do not have to compromise my dearly held beliefs (you know, free trade, limited government, federalism, individual liberty, freedom of speech, rule of law, etc.) to justify support for the whims of a pathological liar and would-be dictator with a history of sexual assault. I don’t have to defend or ignore the Trump family’s corruption of profiting off the Office of the Presidency. I don’t have to pretend that RFK, Jr., Kash Patel, Tulsi Gabbard, Kristi Noem, or Pete Hegseth are anything more than grifters with megaphones and too much power. I don’t have to look away while Trump sells pardons to common criminals. I don’t have to temper my criticism while Donald Trump regularly gets played the world’s worst actors like Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un, and Victor Orban. I don’t have to revise my understanding of January 6 as anything other than an assault on our Republic and democracy encouraged by the outgoing President of the United States. And most of all, I don’t have to rationalize being part of a political coalition that includes Nick Fuentes, Tucker Carlson, Laura Loomer, Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, and thousands of bots living in other countries profiting off the hate and ignorance of the MAGA base.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving.