Two tales anchor our oldest vacation. Each happened in occasions of division and deprivation. And each supply a hopeful observe about who we could be after we strive.
The primary, after all, unfolds in Plymouth, Mass., in 1621. After a devastating first winter that worn out almost half the pilgrims, the Wampanoag individuals taught the survivors to domesticate corn, faucet maple timber and fish native waters. The generosity of the primary Individuals was the settlers’ salvation. And whereas that three-day harvest celebration was a part of a too-brief alliance, the story we inform ourselves about that first Thanksgiving teaches us the lifesaving grace of welcoming the stranger, of sharing presents throughout profound cultural variations and the potential of peaceable coexistence.
The second story, nearly 250 years later, gives a short shiny spot within the darkest hour of our still-young nation. In 1863, midway by the Civil Warfare, as brother fought brother on American battlefields, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a Nationwide Day of Thanksgiving. Notably, he didn’t body this observance as a chest-thumping declaration of army victory or as a decree of nationwide greatness. As a substitute, he referred to as upon Individuals to search out unity in gratitude itself. He invited us to acknowledge, at the same time as we tore ourselves aside, that we remained a individuals blessed by “fruitful fields and healthful skies.”
One can virtually hear at the moment’s political media racing one another to name such a message “out of touch.” However what Lincoln understood was that the follow of giving thanks may bridge chasms that politics and conflict had torn open. He supplied hope that acknowledging our widespread blessings may protect the union when little else may.
The peaks and valleys of American historical past are generally outlined by our wealth and our energy. However as these tales remind us, the true character of America is present in our capability as a pilgrim individuals to search out causes for hope and gratitude and share these blessings with others.
Season of polarization
So, what may these moments recommend for at the moment’s period of disunity and discord?
As we collect this Thanksgiving, we discover ourselves as soon as once more in a season of polarization. Political disagreements over immigration and the function of presidency fracture households, ideologies separate neighbors and the general public sq. usually feels much less like a commons than a battlefield with violence each threatened and tragically actual. And whereas these debates rage, actual human struggling unfolds as indiscriminate immigration crackdowns separate households with out clarification, refuse sanctuary to these fleeing violence and deport the strangers at our doorstep to nations they’ve by no means visited with languages they don’t communicate. On the similar time, lots of our neighbors have misplaced jobs to company layoffs, authorities cutbacks and easy probability, and all of a sudden really feel the pangs of starvation on this land of a lot.
Within the face of all this, the overwhelming temptation could be to retreat to our separate corners, to present thanks solely with those that suppose as we do, to harden our hearts towards these on the opposite aspect of no matter divide the algorithms inform us is most pressing that day.
However Plymouth and Lincoln supply us a distinct path. They remind us that giving thanks itself could be an act of unity — not by papering over our variations or pretending they don’t exist, however by recognizing that our blessings are actual and shared no matter these variations. The pilgrims and the Wampanoag got here from vastly totally different worlds however discovered widespread trigger in gratitude for the harvest. Lincoln’s divided nation couldn’t agree on the basic questions of union and freedom, but he invited us to agree that we had obtained blessings price acknowledging.
House for gratitude
Maybe this Thanksgiving, we would make a easy selection. Whether or not our desk holds abundance or meager fare, what if we put aside, if just for this meal, the conversations in regards to the issues that divide us. The coverage debates can wait. The political arguments can reemerge with Friday’s leftovers. As a substitute, ask every individual on the desk to share what they’re genuinely grateful for. Let the loudest and the quietest communicate, the youngest and the oldest, too. Make area for gratitude, whether or not it’s small and particular, giant and summary, or my favourite: the at-first lovely however, upon second thought, staggeringly profound knowledge of a kid.
You may uncover one thing exceptional: that we’ve all obtained blessings, all of us have causes for hope, and all of us can discover gentle and laughter even in tough occasions. We’re all inheritors of the pilgrim spirit, not within the sense of conquest or superiority, however within the humility of recognizing our dependence on time and probability and each other.
Thanksgiving, at its greatest, shouldn’t be about pretending we agree on every part. It’s about remembering that earlier than we’re residents of any political get together, adherents of any ideology or followers of any explicit religion, we’re human beings able to gratitude, members of households and communities who want each other, and members in a narrative bigger and extra vital than our instant, usually insignificant conflicts.
This Thanksgiving Day, could we discover our manner again to that desk in Plymouth, the place totally different peoples selected cooperation over battle, and, if just for a time, helped flip our society from amplifying grievance to reflecting gratitude. Might we hear Lincoln’s name to find unity in our shared blessings. And will we declare our widespread id as these blessed by windfall, with causes for giving thanks that transcend and outlast our deepest disagreements.
Pope Francis appointed Cardinal Blase J. Cupich because the ninth archbishop of Chicago in 2014. He serves on the USA Convention of Catholic Bishops Committee on Migration and the Subcommittee for the Church in Central and Japanese Europe. ©2025 Chicago Tribune. Distributed by Tribune Content material Company.
