On this Thanksgiving 2015 so many conflicting and contradicting emotions battle in my heart and mind.
1. There is thankfulness in my heart that my son and his wife are employed; that they are receiving healthcare benefits through their employment--even when their salaries keep them barely above board.
2. There is thankfulness in my heart that my grandchildren do have a loving mother and a loving father--but there is worry in my heart over how safe are they in an elementary school environment which, if it is like so many other school environments, depends on irrational disciplinary policies; where kids get sent to jail, not to the principal's office; where kids carry weapons or drugs or who knows what to schoo, where they get into fights" where logical consequences are no longer part of the disciplinary rule in this atmosphere of irrationality and emotionality that has taken over not only our public school system but our nation as a whole.
3. There is thankfulness that at this time their teachers seem to be dedicated to teaching and seem to be understanding of the gentle souls of the children in their classrooms.
I am thankful that my son and his family will gather at a Thanksgiving table tomorrow to give thanks for the love that unites them and for the Blessings that they do have.
In my thankfulness I look forward to listening to the CD by Michael Morwood that a friend and former teacher sent me and, which, I received today entitled "Articulating a 21st Century Spirituality."
Yes. I am in need of looking beyond this materialistic, greedy, violent world--and I am convinced that in the midst of all these conflicting and colliding emotions within me, this CD will be a balm; a special gift for which I am much in need and most thankful.
And still, when I think about the many thousands of families fleeing from bombings, beheadings, rape, barbarism " families who have lost children, husbands, wives, homes "
I wonder, how can we as a Nation truly be in a celebratory mood knowing that we have played, and still play, a part in all the suffering and chaos facing so much of humanity today?
Yes. The Pope recently said that this year, with so much of the world at war, so much violence, and disruption of lives throughout the world, Christmas festivities are a farce. I think this Pope has it right once again.
I believe that neither in Argentina nor in Rome people celebrate Thanksgiving. Perhaps that is why the Pope did not mention the farce of Thanksgiving 2015 in his homily on the day that he was speaking of the farce of Christmas this year, or why on this Thanksgiving Day this Pope will be traveling throughout Africa taking a message that he hopes will inspire people to work for peace and for the good of the environment.
And, while here Thanksgiving is a Day of THANKS GIVING I cannot be truly thankful when we live in an ever encroaching police state; in a Nation which drops bombs on other countries. I cannot truly be thankful when I live in a Nation where politicians beholden to oil company lobbyists and those of other anti-environment businesses tell the Pope to shut up about the environment because he is not a scientist and they claim that he knows nothing about the environment. I cannot truly be thankful when a Nation's greed supersedes the wisdom of such a Stewart trying to safeguard the planet for the benefit of all of humanity.
I also cannot truly be thankful when the politicians in our Nation forgot that old rubric, "I cannot tell a lie. I chopped the cherry tree."
These days politicians are proud of the lies they tell; while the propaganda machines, The Mainstream Media, go right along with them: spewing lies and propaganda.
This Thanksgiving Day I pray for PEACE throughout the world.
This Thanksgiving I pray For a Stop to Bombings, Massacres, Dominion, and Supremacy.
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