The anointed day - the second Cardinal Sin - the feast

Today, families gather together in disparate levels of joy over the Thanksgiving day feast. A rotating globe displaces Taiwan into the future, where Thanksgiving has already come and gone. Celebrating in the most American fashion, Dacota and I enjoyed ourselves immensely.

I know what you are thinking; just because we are the white people amongst dark-skinned inhabitants doesn't make our Thanksgiving more authentic. In fact, it certainly does! You might also wonder how we obtained small-pox infected blankets to ignorantly gift/trade away? We didn't -- regrettably. :-(


As products of the American educational system and American cultural indoctrination, it is amazing that some consider this day-of-thanks as some kind of communion between the natives and immigrants. A day where the natives happily contributed to a Puritan feast and both sides ate in peace and equality. Throughout my youth this narrative didn't seem accurate, especially when reading history books detailing the obliteration of native populations. My intuition proved accurate; the history of the day and era is ghastly. As a youth, I played along obediently because it is easier to participate in events than to protest and demand truthful answers. Fortunately, my folks celebrated this day differently than other families and used it as an excuse to remember all that one is thankful for. We would go around discussing and expressing our gratitude for things and events that transpired the previous year and invoke positive affirmations in an effort to grow in desired traits and qualities.


Perhaps accurate accounts of historic events should be taught to our children. Not to harp on mistakes of the past but to own up to the atrocities committed. The flat-out lies told to school children are analogous to something as odious as instructing them that black slaves volunteered to come work in America. That the slavers didn't purchase them from tribes or abduct them outright but instead they came across the ocean volunteering in a manner similar to WWOOLFing. It simply doesn't teach the lessons of growth and progress that people should all to be thankful for. Celebrating the harvest, celebrating the connection to one's family, and celebrating a time of abundance in this age of enormous prosperity, in my opinion, wouldn't be ruined by accurately reflecting on how native populations have been destroyed throughout the times of colonization and forced indoctrination. Living in a first/third world country sadly reflects the unlearned lessons of imperial domination. Missionaries abound and with them the arrogance of righteousness. With these lessons omitted from public education and public dialog, such disrespect and violence will continue indefinitely.

 

Conforming to modern Thanksgiving customs, without access to a Turkey, we did the next best thing; ate as much as we could – gluttony at its finest. A delicious all-you-can-eat vegetarian restaurant transformed the traditional American experience of yams, potatos, stuffing, turkey, ham, cranberries, etc. into orange encrusted lotus root, wasabi and sesame glazed okra, yam leaves with wolfberries and mushrooms, deep fried parsnips, seared green beans in black pepper sauce, spicy eggplant, curried cauliflower, soup so stinky with fermentation that dogs would turn away, T.C.M. soup with greens, numerous dumplings of sweet and/or savory variety, and more. Much, much more. Leaving the restaurant in a dazed fashion, pain swelling in my stomach like an alien about to burst through, we successfully conquered the feast. We made 'Murica proud!