What are we celebrating?

I think it's really indicative of the American culture that we set aside one day each year to show our thankfulness. It's as though by reflecting on our blessings as a unified group for a 24-hour period, we are excused from the selfishness that dominates the rest of the year. What about during May, when there aren't any major events to celebrate? Are we so robotic that we need to be told when to show our appreciation?

And now, like almost all other holidays, Thanksgiving has become so commercialized that it barely reflects what it was created for. These days it's more about food and football than family and friends, and it certainly isn't observed as a celebration in honor of the Pilgrims. I was reminded of this just a couple days ago while babysitting my friend's two daughters. Lily, the 8-year-old, was describing for me a house on the way to her school. She said they'd had Halloween decorations up in September and the Christmas stuff came out weeks before it was even Thanksgiving, just like in all the stores. This was so offensive to her because, as she put it, Thanksgiving is one of "the only truly American holidays" (well, that and the Fourth of July).

"If you think about it," she said, "people in Africa aren't going to celebrate Thanksgiving. They don't care about the Pilgrims coming to America. We're the only ones who care about it." She thinks that's pretty neat. I think she's pretty neat.