Thank Goodness for Thanksgiving

Nov. 19, 2023

Thank goodness for Thanksgiving.

Gathering with family and friends, cooking and consuming way too much food, recognizing our many blessings, this is one day when we come together in communal spirit.

In one of its periodic public-opinion surveys, Our Common Purpose last year asked 2,500 respondents to decide which of a list of American institutions and practices unite or divide us.  While 8 of the 28 factors were regarded as divisive, 20 were judged to be unifying to one degree or another.

Thanksgiving finished at the top of the list, tied with the liberty we enjoy and a grouping of our patriotic holidays.

True, not everyone is a fan (one of every 10 respondents find Thanksgiving to some degree divisive), and all of us could do without the dreaded annual encounter with Cousin Vinny.

But at least for this one day of the year, the great majority of us are on the same page.  It’s another small reason to give thanks.  And to pray for more of the same.

Happy Thanksgiving!