Thanksgiving Reflection

I feel that there is a writhing pessimism at the bottom of Thanksgiving. Many people who are educated in American History often look at the holiday with a sense of loathing. "Oh yeah, Thanksgiving, the holiday where Indians helped Americans only to have the Americans slaughter them by the thousands."
Alright, I am aware of that, but its not like Thanksgiving actually celebrates the demise of Native American Indians (that's the politically correct term right?). But how awesome it is that people actually take the time to sit down and really think about what they are thankful for, how much they have.
This Thanksgiving I spent it with my parents, my brother and his wife and family. They have four little kids, the youngest are twins. Their oldest son always greets me with hugs and their oldest daughter showed me all the art work that she was doing in pre-school. I played games with them, drank beer, and when the kids were in bed we all sat around the living room, burping and exchanging stories. This is what I am thankful for, the fact that I have such a big family. I am thankful for heat, a bed, wool socks, the sound of my radiator, for the mountain of books in my room, for writers and philosophers of the world who want to make change for the better. I could be negative, looking at my white skin, blaming myself for the degradation of the Native culture with colonists came over the sea, or I could be thankful that we have history to teach us what not to do. I like studying other cultures and other worlds that are foreign to me, but their history always seems a little similar to ours, the only difference is that America became a free country from the British a lot sooner than other colonies. We could look at these countries and think of them as the "other" but I would rather see them as "brother" and "sister." After all we all share the same planet do we not? I am thankful for history, for its ability to teach future generations, I am thankful for empathy, humility and the hope that one day we may all learn to respect one another. If Thanksgiving has taught us anything, it is that two different cultures can come together and share a meal together in peace and harmony. Happy Holidays! And enjoy the leftover turkey!