Each November 27th, American families gather together to celebrate the age old tradition of giving thanks. We live in selfish times, not necessarily brought upon by greed or ambition, but as a result of the economic downturn which has caused us hard-working Americans to put our care-free spirits on hold (for hopefully just a little while) to focus on providing for ourselves and our families. Truth be told, we have put our God-given rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness on the backburner. And it kind of sucks. But on Thanksgiving, a heartfelt reverence always seems to capture us as we drive or fly from all over the world to be with our loved ones.
We have much to be thankful for despite what the media portrays. Sometimes our economic and political woes make us forget our good fate. To be a citizen from the land of the free and the home of the brave, where people from all over the world have settled for over 3oo years in pursuit of a better, fulfilling and free life is a human right that 300 million people are granted with. Every American family celebrates Thanksgiving differently than the next one. Some Americans whose ancestors came from Italy turn their feast into cucina Roma serving eggplant parmagiana or a simple spaghetti dinner. Some Indian-Americans fill their houses with the sweet smell of curry while Scottish Americans substitute turkey for haggis or Greek-Americans replace mashed potatoes and gravy with moussaka. Despite our current global conditions, we maintain admiration for our heritage through sharing Thanksgiving together as the pilgrims and the Native American Indians once did.
This year, my mother found a terrific program through a local Church enabling us to share Thanksgiving with new Americans who are not yet familiar with our traditions. It has become our small family’s ritual to volunteer during the holidays. Since our party totals a whopping three people, additions to our feast are rare but make for interesting conversation. This year, an adoring family of four new Americans joined our holiday. Natives of Bhutan, which lies between China and India, they moved to Nepal where they spent the past 15 years. The father worked in a corn factory, the mother was the homemaker and the children attended school and enjoyed sports like soccer and volleyball. On paper they weren’t too far off from what I would consider an enjoyable life. However, when they walked into our home, they were immediately in awe of our simple Suburban townhome which most Americans would consider far from glamorous. It was difficult to tell whether they were scared, humbled or indifferent.
Since I am the traveled and open-minded Laliberte, I was obviously intrigued by them. I wanted to hear their stories. I wanted to learn something new. Unfortunately the language barrier made it quite difficult to communicate. Their quiet nature and generous demeanors prevented us from having the conversations we would normally enjoy having, so we refrained from taboo topics and focused on the awkward silence in our dining room. As the evening progressed, the elephant in the room slowly crept it’s was into view. For me to feel awkward around people is extremely rare.
I had to keep reminding myself that we are doing what us Jews call a mitzvah, a good deed. Despite the awkward silences and different eating habits, the whole point of the day was to volunteer our time and money so that a new American family could see what a Thanksgiving was really like. If they had been at another family’s house I’m sure it would have been a completely different experience. After our evening of unrealized interrogation on this poor family, they finally asked us a question. The son looked at my mother and asked “where is the father?” My mother didn’t know how to explain to him that she is no longer married to our father and that although we see him and love him, he lives at another house (let alone that my brother and I have a half-sister and are very close with her mother’s family). How was she to explain the dynamics of our American home? So she simply said, “He doesn’t live here.” The family snickered to one another, put away their smiles and seemed almost puzzled. It was in that moment I was reminded that America is a place where the norms are the differences. It’s a place where the ability to live life does not have to be as a result of religion or duty. It’s a place where anything is possible and any option is a human choice and right.
This experience is one I will never forget. I hope our refugee family discovered that like their family, we have a small clan but we are a kind family who loves one another. No matter where you live, what you do, or where you have been, the ability to love and give thanks is universal.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Thursday, November 13, 2008
And the Fat Lady Sang the Most Glorious Song
Post-Election Thoughts…
1) Propaganda Lives
During the coverage of election night I found myself switching from channel to channel. I couldn’t help myself. The contradictions between major stations were adamant and fully represented to the point of hilarity. Whether you regularly tune in to a specific station or flipped on the tube to simply seek any form of election coverage, the media contradictions and differences were clear and concise, but not objective as is the essence of journalism.
Media is and always will be a form of propaganda. Swaying the public is key; keeping the nation focused on pertinent issues should be the goal. However, when it comes to personal identification with a candidate’s policies and ideals the root of the decision-making process comes solely from reflection, empiricism and morality. We live in a conformist society. From atheists to anarchists, non-conformists are also swayed in their beliefs via media outlets, research and personal vendettas. No matter what the belief, we are a mentally and socially controlled country. This election only fueled that notion.
2) Boneheaded comments are bound to be made. So save yourself the humiliation and angst from friends and family by just shutting the hell up.
The morning after the election I (along with the others who were so generously added) received a very expected text message from a friend of mine. The text message read:
“Welcome to a ‘fairer and more just America,’ (aka the Soviet Union), where working hard will get you what is FAIR and not what you EARNED. So much for freedom.”
Upon reading this text, an outburst of laughter erupted from me throat. I was floored that someone would actually send out a mass text message with an excerpt of such stupidity and un-Americanism although it did include a bit of irony. Democrat or Republican, Christian or Agnostic, black, white, green, yellow, purple or pink, the last thing America needs is negativity.
We’ve voted, and we all know the outcome. Barack Obama or John McCain aside, the leader of the free world has a tall order to uphold. Some would say for the order to be the tallest we’ve ever encountered. Making stupid remarks that have not a speck of cohesion – i.e. that our freedoms will be taken away and that we will become a Communist country – are child-like and unwanted. No matter which candidate you voted for, the outcome is what it is. Barack Obama is our president-elect and will be the President of this country come January 20, 2009. Face the facts. Get over it. Get on board or leave!
3) There are some who will surprise you.
I have a very close friend who is uber-conservative. Her views are not a product of ignorance or hatred. Her views stem from heredity, experience and environment. There are many comments I have seen her make in the past regarding issues of race and culture that I find repugnant. I do respect her immensely because she is an incredible person all-around. We normally do steer clear of the political topics in conversation but during this election I felt that commenting was necessary. In my eyes, talking about it is far more important than avoiding the argument. To have beliefs requires you to at least understand viewpoints that oppose your own.
In this election, open-mindedness was absolutely crucial. This election is a matter of our families, our futures, our money, our health, our unity and our sanity – it’s not a time to sit back and allow decisions to be made for us.
Anyway, my election week ended on a positive note. This very close friend of mine and I went out for coffee and at the end of our conversation I asked her if she was upset about the election results. Her response was expected – “Well, I don’t really have a choice at this point.” And she’s right. I realized that I had a copy of The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama in my car. No, I did not plan that. I was actually about to read it again in the spirit of the outcome. So I excused myself from the table, grabbed the book from my car, came back and said “well if you don’t have a choice, would you like to educated yourself on what type of policies are about to be considered?” I didn’t tell her the context of the book. This book wasn’t really a mission statement or a glorified representation of policy. This book is exactly what its title suggests, a message of hope from a hopeful person.
If the election turned out the way you hoped as I did – yaaa hooo!!! We did it! Change prevails! Challenge yourself to take a look at the current administration’s mistakes. But, also realize that we are still here because of some of their decisions. Does the sun still shine? Can you still put gas in your vehicle? Can you still speak you mind and express yourself? Yes. Yes. Yes. In my world these things are possible, but there are thousands of less fortunate people who cannot say the same thing. That’s why I voted the way I did. We can all come together as a country and allow hard-working, HOPEFUL people to regain the successes dreamed of or lost.
If the election didn’t turn out the way you hoped it would I urge you to open your mind to new ideas. These ideas come from a positive place. These ideas come from a man who comes from simple beginnings and seeks the same things that all of us seek – happiness, love and naturally, freedom. Bipartisanship will be crucial and we need to work together to actually make Barack Obama's presidency a success. So let's look past the differences and look towards the future so that our children won't have to pick up the pieces that we're picking up for these morons in Washington. Amen.
1) Propaganda Lives
During the coverage of election night I found myself switching from channel to channel. I couldn’t help myself. The contradictions between major stations were adamant and fully represented to the point of hilarity. Whether you regularly tune in to a specific station or flipped on the tube to simply seek any form of election coverage, the media contradictions and differences were clear and concise, but not objective as is the essence of journalism.
Media is and always will be a form of propaganda. Swaying the public is key; keeping the nation focused on pertinent issues should be the goal. However, when it comes to personal identification with a candidate’s policies and ideals the root of the decision-making process comes solely from reflection, empiricism and morality. We live in a conformist society. From atheists to anarchists, non-conformists are also swayed in their beliefs via media outlets, research and personal vendettas. No matter what the belief, we are a mentally and socially controlled country. This election only fueled that notion.
2) Boneheaded comments are bound to be made. So save yourself the humiliation and angst from friends and family by just shutting the hell up.
The morning after the election I (along with the others who were so generously added) received a very expected text message from a friend of mine. The text message read:
“Welcome to a ‘fairer and more just America,’ (aka the Soviet Union), where working hard will get you what is FAIR and not what you EARNED. So much for freedom.”
Upon reading this text, an outburst of laughter erupted from me throat. I was floored that someone would actually send out a mass text message with an excerpt of such stupidity and un-Americanism although it did include a bit of irony. Democrat or Republican, Christian or Agnostic, black, white, green, yellow, purple or pink, the last thing America needs is negativity.
We’ve voted, and we all know the outcome. Barack Obama or John McCain aside, the leader of the free world has a tall order to uphold. Some would say for the order to be the tallest we’ve ever encountered. Making stupid remarks that have not a speck of cohesion – i.e. that our freedoms will be taken away and that we will become a Communist country – are child-like and unwanted. No matter which candidate you voted for, the outcome is what it is. Barack Obama is our president-elect and will be the President of this country come January 20, 2009. Face the facts. Get over it. Get on board or leave!
3) There are some who will surprise you.
I have a very close friend who is uber-conservative. Her views are not a product of ignorance or hatred. Her views stem from heredity, experience and environment. There are many comments I have seen her make in the past regarding issues of race and culture that I find repugnant. I do respect her immensely because she is an incredible person all-around. We normally do steer clear of the political topics in conversation but during this election I felt that commenting was necessary. In my eyes, talking about it is far more important than avoiding the argument. To have beliefs requires you to at least understand viewpoints that oppose your own.
In this election, open-mindedness was absolutely crucial. This election is a matter of our families, our futures, our money, our health, our unity and our sanity – it’s not a time to sit back and allow decisions to be made for us.
Anyway, my election week ended on a positive note. This very close friend of mine and I went out for coffee and at the end of our conversation I asked her if she was upset about the election results. Her response was expected – “Well, I don’t really have a choice at this point.” And she’s right. I realized that I had a copy of The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama in my car. No, I did not plan that. I was actually about to read it again in the spirit of the outcome. So I excused myself from the table, grabbed the book from my car, came back and said “well if you don’t have a choice, would you like to educated yourself on what type of policies are about to be considered?” I didn’t tell her the context of the book. This book wasn’t really a mission statement or a glorified representation of policy. This book is exactly what its title suggests, a message of hope from a hopeful person.
If the election turned out the way you hoped as I did – yaaa hooo!!! We did it! Change prevails! Challenge yourself to take a look at the current administration’s mistakes. But, also realize that we are still here because of some of their decisions. Does the sun still shine? Can you still put gas in your vehicle? Can you still speak you mind and express yourself? Yes. Yes. Yes. In my world these things are possible, but there are thousands of less fortunate people who cannot say the same thing. That’s why I voted the way I did. We can all come together as a country and allow hard-working, HOPEFUL people to regain the successes dreamed of or lost.
If the election didn’t turn out the way you hoped it would I urge you to open your mind to new ideas. These ideas come from a positive place. These ideas come from a man who comes from simple beginnings and seeks the same things that all of us seek – happiness, love and naturally, freedom. Bipartisanship will be crucial and we need to work together to actually make Barack Obama's presidency a success. So let's look past the differences and look towards the future so that our children won't have to pick up the pieces that we're picking up for these morons in Washington. Amen.
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