Although I have never discussed the subject with my grandparents in
Kansas (my grandfather served in the Navy during WW2), I believe the
National feeling must not have been too different of what we see today,
although the circumstances differ in many ways.
We are not into a depression, although economy has slowed down
critically - especially in New York City, where the attack on a civilian
target(quite differently of what happened in 1941) left a gaping hole in
the city's skyline and an everlasting lump in everyone's throat.
Back then, the enemies were quite clear - this time, we are at war not
with a nation or two but against a network of radicals who,differently
from the foes of the 1940s, chant against the very principles of freedom
that allow many of their own nationals earn an honest living in this
country.
As for myself, I have been doing my best to put September 11th behind
me and get ready to give thanks for everything we have and everything we
are - despite the losses that have grieved us in an unthinkable way. That,
however, is hard - especially when I look across the harbor from St.
George, on Staten Island.
Thanksgiving is possibly the only holiday that, despite having been
created by a religious group(the Pilgrims who fled persecution during the
17th. Century), is essentially non-denominational. Christians, Jews,
Buddhists and Muslims alike celebrate it in America in their own way,
giving thanks for the freedom that they couldn't(and still can't) achieve
in their native lands.
I recently spoke these very words to a
class of foreign students at a local language center as we discussed
everyone's plans for the holidays. Many of them had no idea of the meaning
of Thanksgiving, but most agreed with me.
As we talked about it, I noticed that many other nationalities have
their own "version"of Thanksgiving. For instance, Chinese and Korean
citizens have a similar holiday in which they gather together to celebrate
family and eat traditional foods. Other countries, while lacking official
dates, find a way to give thanks and celebrate who they are.
The recent tragedy has given us a lot of focus on our National
identity. Before Sept. 11th, we were, as Lance Morrow wrote on Time
Magazine, "hyphen-Americans" - an odd politically correct term which is at
odds with the whole thing of being part of a people who consider
themselves, in a way or another, citizens of this great country which was
built by immigrants from all over the world.
I don't see myself as hyphen-anything. I am, as many others in the
world and especially in New York City, a citizen of the world. Yes, I am
an American and a patriot, but with an awareness of the rest of the planet
and all the differences that should bring us together instead of pulling
us apart.
Yes, we are diverse, but still, we should be united.
Anyhow, once again we sit at our tables to give thanks for what we
have, who we are and for whatever else the holiday represents to each of
us. In many homes, there will be empty seats and broken hearts.
In remembrance of those fallen citizens of various nations, we should
say a Thanksgiving prayer to those whose mommies and daddies did not come
home on September 11th - it is the least we can do.
As for myself, I have a lot to give thanks for. I have a day job in
which I earn enough to support my family. There are no luxuries, but no
essentials are missing. I am happily married, and I am a resident of one
of the world's greatest cities.
There have been a few drawbacks, of course – especially after September
11th, but I have been so much fortunate than many other New
Yorkers – especially those who didn't make it back home that fateful
morning.
Yes, bad things have happened – but we still have a lot to give thanks
about.
often wonder how it
felt during the Christmas of 1942, almost sixty years ago. America was at
war after a period of depression that seemed endless; Pearl Harbor had
been a victim of a cowardly attack that changed history, and the Nazi
threat mobilized our nation and its allies against a common enemy.
