I thought I had something to say: Is that pumpkin pie or sweet potato...ugh..sweet potato...bleck

Today is the national holiday in the US where we celebrate giving thanks. Now I really want to try to be more positive about my blog and push away griping, bitching, moaning and complaining. So while this entry may seem like something from one of the previous categories as a gripe, a bitch, a moan or even a complaint it isn’t no matter how much it actually seems like it might be. Trust me I’m the one writing this I should know what I mean. Is this really a day of giving thanks and is that really what the meaning of the holiday is supposed to be. Most likely it would depend on who you ask about the holiday Little kids will say it is a day that there is no school and the pilgrims did stuff. You know stuff like fleeing an island where the rule of the land disenfranchised many of them for being the believing in the wrong religion or in the wrong birth order, born in the wrong social standing or even being born the wrong gender. And other stuff like shunning the natives and treating them exactly like they were treated on their little island home. Shunning them for being the wrong religion, being uneducated, taking advantage of their willingness to share, and not even recognizing them as humans. Yet still these new people to the pilgrims supposed forgave and helped the idiots from the little island. Perhaps they regret that choice but it wasn’t likely something as big as the land mass that is the US would have gone unnoticed for much longer and really had been known about for a while anyway. Just getting here was a bit dicey. Assuming the pilgrims were just as bad as they were good, why are we celebrating them. On to the native peoples, while they were taken advantage of by the invading funny dressed people, were they really all that nice. Seems that they were just as bad. Wars along tribal lines just like all the invaders. Where as the Euro-trash coming over warred as England, France, Spain and others. The natives warred with one another under the names of Iroquois, Ottawa, Crow, Osage, Cherokee, and others. They had there own governmental problems but certainly for all the lack of European based education certainly was better for the community as a whole, you know until those pesky other groups decided to bash your head in for being born in the wrong group. It still baffles me that they just didn’t fall upon this funny dressed people and bang them on the head with rocks until they died. Guess they felt sorry them for being dressed so funny. Anyway if the first settlers and the native peoples were all not so pleasant to deal with on the whole surely the ideals of giving thanks should be something we can all gather to and agree is the reason for the holiday. What do we give thanks for though, the holiday propaganda would have us think that having family and food are the reasons to give thanks. Not to sound too much like some one who practices Buddhism shouldn’t this be something that humbles us every day and the Buddha isn’t the only one who attempts to corner the market on this thankfulness game. All the “major” and yes even the “minor” belief systems seem to talk a lot about the importance of family, thankfulness for blessings and life and such things. The quotes about major and minor are to denote that because your belief system doesn’t have the number of followers of some other billion ranked system doesn’t make it any less important. There is the argument that this is a non religious holiday and the belief system isn’t really a part of the whole thing, so take your “you should give thanks everyday argument and put it on the shelf”. You thought I was going to say something else didn’t you (wink) see I have a moral compass …sometimes it even works. That isn’t going to fly but taking the belief system out and from a purely not belief system shouldn’t thankfulness be an every day thing and not a once a year celebration. And if it is really all about being thankful and sharing. Why is it that we are gathering together to over indulge and argue with loved ones about politics, religion, sexual orientation, bad habits, and all the other reasons families across this land will say mean and hateful things. Or instead of saying them, just thinking them and drinking too much to drown out the demons, or better still push those feelings down deep inside until we take them out of coworkers or in our own smaller nuclear family. That says happiness and thanks right. In review we have a holiday in which we are supposed to be happy, thankful and celebrate community sharing and helping out our fellow humans. We celebrate it by, over eating, over drinking, saying bad things about the people we care most about, do horrible things to those we care about and preparing to spend every dollar we have save and some that credit cards will allow us to spend on things we really don’t need. Boozed up, over full shopping. Hmmm… perhaps we do celebrate it properly the pilgrims were a groups not so happy people who met some people who only liked themselves in small groups who got together that one time had a great meal then started screwing each other over everyday since. Well then sorry for all the critical review of things seems we are doing it right. Grab your pie, turkey thigh and your booze du jour and enjoy. In other news Seriously though be thankful everyday for all the things we all, including me, take for granted and over look all too often. We all have problems and may not have everything we want in our lives but if you have a place to sleep at night that is dry, clothing to wear and food to eat and even just one person who is happy to see you most every day. You have a lot more than millions in the US and billions around the world. Give thanks for everyday not just on holidays. Well, that’s all for now, other stuff on a tomorrow most likely Thank you for reading, please subscribe, Happy Birthday if it’s your birthday and a very merry un birthday if it isn’t your birthday Have a great day and play nice in the neighborhood. Ciao,