Thanksgiving: Giving Thanks and Thanks for Giving

Happy Thanksgiving! The wish is a little belated, I know. But hey, I was busy celebrating with my relatives. We ate turkey and stuffing and mashed potatoes, spent quality time together, and even watched some football. All the hallmarks of what is in many ways a uniquely American family holiday.

But why do we celebrate this holiday anyway? In part, it’s a time to reflect on and express our gratitude for all that’s good in our lives, and good about our country. I may spend most of my words on this blog bringing attention to the inequities and iniquities that LGBT and other folks face, but I must also take time to acknowledge what is right in this nation and in my life.

Nobody wants to read a list of everything I’m grateful for, and I don’t want to write that list, but here’s a short and sweet ten things:

1) My family and friends love and accept me, and I love and accept them. Even though this isn’t the case enough of the time, acceptance increases every day.

2) I live in a federal constitutional republic, which affords my fellow citizens and me 1st Amendment freedoms, representation, and other wonderful rights that we often take for granted even as other countries flex their censorial fingers.

3) I have plenty to eat and drink whenever I’m thirsty or hungry, and a place to sleep, which not everybody can say. (I realize this order defies Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, but oh well.)

4) I’m thankful for organizations like the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Human Rights Campaign, the LIKE ME Organization, the Trevor Project, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, the Make It Better Project, the National Center for Transgender Equality, and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force – just to name a few. (By the way, you can show how grateful you are for any of these organizations by googling them, visiting their websites, and donating away!)

5) I am thankful for my health, and the health of my friends and family, and I’m thankful that thanks to the recent passage of landmark health care reform legislation, many more people’s health will be preserved this year than the last. Also I am thankful for the tireless scientific research that leads to new medical breakthroughs all the time, and will one day surely lead to that elusive cure for cancer.

6) I am thankful for all of my amazing friends and allies, and everybody like them.

7) I’m grateful for my religious freedom, and I’m thankful that I live in a country where I can be Jewish and my friends can be Muslim and Christian and Hindu and Buddhist, and none of us have any problems with that.

8) I am grateful for the world that has at least as many beautiful parts to it as terrible parts, and that I can find something to smile about each and every day.

9) I’m grateful for the support of my cat, Fuzzy, and my tortoise, Joey.

10) And I’m grateful for all of you guys reading this!