Thanksgiving is one of the most popular holidays of the year for Americans. It is also culturally becoming. We are encouraged to pause and reflect on what we have received, especially from those no longer at the table.
(There are, as always, other ways to look at it — Ayn Rand famously called it a typical American holiday because it celebrated not Pilgrims, but successful production, in a selfish and therefore commendable feast of conspicuous overconsumption.)
Might we consider an accompanying holiday — one where, instead of thinking of what we have received, we think of what we might get rid of? In particular, our resentments, our grudges, our get-back-ats, and our expensive, time-consuming claims against one another? Rather than Thanksgiving Day, what about Forgiving Day?
(No, this isn’t religious — it’s commercially rational. Read on!) Read more »
Tags: conflict management, Culture