Be Thankful, Bitches!

What it means to be thankful.

Kelly Doran

Thanksgiving is here! So, what are you thankful for?

The question may conjure thoughts of family, or Black Friday sales, or turkey and all the fixins... and of course you are thankful for a day off of work. The question, however, is often misinterpreted as “what do I have in my life that makes me happy?” And while it’s fine to go over the things you have that make you happy and convenient,that is not thanks. That is not being thankful. That is being happy to be one of the lucky ones. 

Around the nation this Thanksgiving, millions will be waiting in line at local food banks, or charities, or churches that can afford to help those in need -- just to get their family's a warm dinner. At the same time, they are signing their kids up to receive a hat and glove set, plus one present, to gift to their children for Christmas -- likely the only present they will receive this year.

For millions of Americans, Thanksgiving is a source of anxiety.

​Budgeting in a feast for a whole family into their food stamp budget is horrifyingly fighting. Do they risk not eating as well all month to afford their family this one meal?

You bet they do!

No poor parent is proud to be in such a situation, and want their kids to be able to have the things that many of us get to enjoy: food, without worry. They want their children to go back to school and be able to join the conversation on what they ate for Thanksgiving. It needs to be said that there are children, and mothers, fathers, and siblings, that will not be able to join into that conversation. And that is devastating.

As I’m writing this column, ads are popping up on TV, using Thanksgiving to sell us cars, beds, or whatever they want -- because they know many of us are only truly thankful for these material goods. Stuff that can be bought, held, touched. We are a nation obsessed with having the newest, the shiniest, the most marketed items.  We are desperate to keep up the the Joneses.

There has been a miniature movement among retailers to keep the doors shuttered on Thanksgiving. There have been sponsored posts on Facebook that promote staying in with your family on Thanksgiving. These movements wouldn’t exist though, if we had never lost sight of what’s really important in the first place: family, neighbors, children and their health. We’ve lost sight of what is truly important: Being together, being content.

For the people who offer to the poor the advice: “get a job,” perhaps stop and think for a second this Thanksgiving  that nobody chooses to stay in poverty. It’s either the only lifestyle they know or there is no realistic means to step up. We should not judge people based on their abject poverty. You cannot know how it feels until you have been there.

I’m calling for understanding this Thanksgiving -- it is time to identify what you are thankful for and spreading that feeling in any positive way you can. Even if it’s just  a positive change in thought patterns, I just want you to realize that we are the lucky ones. No matter what road we had to take to get here, most of us have everything we need.

Spread love this Thanksgiving. You will be surprised how far a little love can go.