Thoughts on Thanksgiving

We want to be thankful for what we have, and Thanksgiving is one day (almost) the whole nation comes together to give thanks and usually spend time with family (friends in my case). 

However, it is a reminder that it is because of atrocities committed against the indigenous people that the United States came into being. It is also because there is a United States as it is that we have immigrants who have come here for better opportunities.

So, I am ambivalent. I am a beneficiary of the existence of this country, and therefore a beneficiary of the atrocities against indigenous people.

I appreciate a day to give thanks, but its origin isn’t very savory. To be honest, most people are not thinking of how Thanksgiving Day came about. Most are grateful for the concept of a day of thanksgiving. Of course it has evolved into big business where people are just waiting for Black Friday and the sales. While I am grateful for Thanksgiving despite knowing how it came about, I’m even more against retail being open Thanksgiving Day and the push to make sales on Friday. 

If this truly is a time to give thanks, the usual Black Friday chaos reminds you how ungrateful and uncivilized people really are.

I know this isn’t very coherent. It’s more a ramble than an essay.