Thankful

What are you thankful for?

So much nihilism I see in the world, so much I see online. So many people calling other people fascists. So much lost hope, non existent faith, and a lack of empathy. Why?

An echo chamber has formed, three or so echo chambers actually: The Trump echo chamber, The hatred of Trump Echo Chamber, the All Others echo chamber. Echo chambers are not good, they are anti-art, anti-intellectual places where the free debate of ideas, and respect for others opinions, go to die.

Empires tear themselves apart from the inside. Our nearly 250 plus year experiment that is America, has become an economic machine. When you travel the world and work with business leaders outside of the US, America is on their mind because so much of their livelihood, and of their people, depends on what America does, acts. America is still a powerful force, but the warning bell has sounded. A time to lower the rhetoric within the echo chambers is upon us, whether it happens or not, I dunno.

These are not things I am thankful for. I am going to focus on the things I am thankful for and hopefully someone who would just judge me and write me off as some cis straight religious bigot will realize that I am not a caricature of their stereotypes.

I’m thankful for a country that allowed me, an immigrant’s grandson, to go from high school graduate, to military veteran, to entry level employee to CEO in 40 years.

I am thankful for a door of opportunity that has never been more wide open with our shifting demographics.

I am thankful to see that elections are not rigged. That America is simply divided politically and socially, which is OK, but that our elections are still free and fair.

I’m thankful that I can practice my religion without repression. I’m thankful that I can witness the damage weak men caused my God’s Church on Earth and that it will survive and go on as it has over 2,000 years.

I’m thankful for the passion of our younger generations. The WW2 generation, the adults of my childhood, did many good things in their time, but they also sowed the seeds of societal upheaval, for better or worse. Boomers rebelled but also got rich and sold out. Everyone since, including my generation, called X for some reason, is just trying to find common ground again without the need for a unifying war or calamity.

I’m thankful for Social Media. I preferred a time before it, before influencers, but never have we been more connected to ourselves and the outside world in such a direct manner. You can follow on whatever platform you like women who resist repression in Iran at great risk to their safety, you can read and hear the desperation from war zones in Ukraine and Israel and Gaza. You can connect with ideas across every spectrum or not (the echo chambers again). For better or worse, social media has shown how terrible “entertainment news and journalism” has become. Corporate media is an enemy of everyone in our country. We shouldn’t demonize the people working in it, but we should demonize the lawmakers that allowed it to happen by removing the barriers that kept six companies from owning everything. I’m thankful that the media will have to change as no one is happy with it.

(Speaking of demonizing, Congress and the lack of term limits and meaningful ethical conduct. No congressmen, left, middle or right leaning, should be in power for decades. Absolute power corrupts. But back to thankful affirmations…)

I’m thankful that my adopted son from South Korea is as always treated like any other kid in an almost all white school system. He’s never felt racism, and if our education system has done something right, a focus on ending bullying and embracing multiculturalism was good. Like it or not, our birthrate has dropped and we will not have the population to support our economic machine. I’m thankful for the (mostly) peaceful illegal immigrants (let’s not use dishonest language- they came here illegally across a border that became politicized) who will replenish our workforce and one to two generations from now, their children will be educated and upward reaching in society to heights their parents could only dream of when they made the terrible walk from distant places. I’m thankful for these people, they are here now and I hope we find a way to make them legal and help them get on their feet.

I’m thankful that gay people don’t have to hide anymore or be afraid of being beaten and left to die on barb wire fences.

I’m thankful that States have the right to say yes or no to abortion, and that the terrible Federal overreach that was Roe v. Wade was overturned. I wish abortion did not exist, but I respect whatever the current laws are. I peacefully pray to my God for an end to abortion, but I am glad that if a woman thinks that is her only way out of a situation, that they are not in alleyways dying. Hate me or not, but the body inside you is not your body. I can’t and won’t stop a woman’s legal access to abortion, but I also am allowed to say that you should act more responsibly, condoms and birth control work if you use it. Agree to disagree with me, I’m not a nazi.

I’m thankful for people that can agree to disagree or at least process opposing views intellectually, even if they ultimate reject them. Our society has no place for political or cultural violence, and luckily that is still a bipartisan belief.

I’m thankful for free speech. I served 8 total years in the military. We were taught that freedom of speech was sacred. I remember when an “artist” decided to smear feces all over the Blessed Virgin Mary. I hated it but he had a right to do it. We have to remember that free speech shouldn’t be censored because the censors have biases. You may think your “side” will censor appropriately, but how will you feel when the cycle shifts and your “side” is now the one being silenced?

I’m thankful for the young people in my life that allow me to share my thoughts and experiences with them, and the ones open minded enough to listen objectively.

Finally, I am thankful for all the people and animals in my life that I love.

You can reject the negativity in the world. You can accept that we won’t always agree with the person sitting next to us in public, but that’s doesn’t make that person a nazi or a fascist or an uneducated country bumpkin. You can choose to be happy or not, but happy is better. You can reject materialism and realize that you are better off than many people all over the planet. You can find your tribe, big or small, and find affiliation and acceptance within it. You can leave the big cities that make you feel Isolated, poor and unsafe.

Be thankful today. It’s not hard. Don’t focus on what you don’t have. We are alive in the most advanced time in human existence (allegedly.)

Be a little less negative. Give it a try, it’s contagious.

Happy Thanksgiving