Kicking and screaming all the way to Thanksgiving
Published in the Boulder Daily Camera, 11/24/16
Okay, truth time. Let's all admit that, when things go south, those cathartic moments we experience afterwards can feel pretty good. November 8th certainly gave lots of us Boulderites a serious need for cathartic moments as the day that "liberal elite" became a four-letter word across America. Aside from a few zip codes in New York, Cambridge, and San Francisco, there are few spots in America populated more by liberal elites than our fair town.
Ouch. Bring on the group catharsis.
But we can't keep it up forever or the food stops showing up on the table and we have to resort to drinking crappy beer and smoking the stuff from the bottom shelf. All things considered, we don't want that, do we? Somewhere, sometime, we have to take that one step back and survey the wasteland we used to call "our country" and say, "Hey, maybe it's not so bad after all..."
Now, good citizens, here's a question to see whether you paid attention during that high school course in American history: Do you really think it's an accident that the election is always in early November and that our day of Thanksgiving comes just a few weeks later? Could that bunch of white guys we call Founding Fathers possibly have been soooo smart that they just knew that our quadrennial exercise of democracy would be soooo painful that the peace of our nation would depend upon the administration of large doses of tryptophan to We the People just a few weeks later?
Well, as nice of a story as that might make, Thanksgiving didn't become an official national affair until just after the Civil War. So, any link between the elections and Thanksgiving turns out to be just another lucky break that makes a bunch of old white guys look good.
AdvertisementStill, Thanksgiving in years evenly divisible by four is a great time for reflection on the challenge once posed to us by that great American 20th-century philosopher, Dr. Seuss — "Do you know how lucky you are?" It's not just comparing our trials and tribulations to the ever more challenging lives of the citizens of Ga-Zair, Grooz, and Ronk that should make us appreciate our good fortune. We are pretty lucky and it would be a shame to forget that on Thanksgiving.
"How can we possibly be lucky with that man as president?" we, in our cathartic state, ask.
Well, first, if you're reading this, the odds are good that you live on planet Earth. For centuries we have been searching the universe for other planets that could support life as we know it with a touch of Maui and found nothing. Have you looked at the weather forecast on Mars lately?
Second, we live in Boulder, Colorado. Geez, do I really need to say more? Colorado has natural beauty, great weather, diverse culture, enlightened thinking, and above-average Mexican food. California should have it so good.
Boulder takes Colorado a step further. Add to it healthy lifestyles, abundant open space, nine wins by the Colorado Buffaloes, and a "liberal-elite-and-proud-of-it" attitude and, you are pretty close to heaven. Home sweet home.
Third, while we may be spending this moment feeling hopeless about our nation's government, trust that this is neither new nor permanent. Yeah, maybe all those deplorables did band together and surprise us in a most unpleasant way, but the wheels of government were designed by those old white guys to turn slowly and never permanently in the same direction without broad national consensus. So, either 1) the swamp will be drained in ways we can all agree upon, 2) the pendulum will start to swing back, or 3) we'll find some new metaphors to describe the self-correcting nature of our American political system. Whatever it is, it won't feel this bad for too long.
Fourth, who cares about those scary swamp clowns anyway? Colorado and Boulder make most of our own laws and our leaders are not nuts. OK, maybe they are nuts, but they are our nuts, which is somehow better. Way better.
So, sometime early on Thanksgiving Day, take a few deep yoga breaths and count your blessings, which are many. The snow is starting to fall and the ski slopes are getting ready. The Broncos and Buffs are on the road to possible national championships. The hiking trails of Chautauqua are still open and it's going to be a sunny fall day. And, maybe best of all, your dose of tryptophan is in the oven and, boy, does it smell good...
Okay, truth time. Let's all admit that, when things go south, those cathartic moments we experience afterwards can feel pretty good. November 8th certainly gave lots of us Boulderites a serious need for cathartic moments as the day that "liberal elite" became a four-letter word across America. Aside from a few zip codes in New York, Cambridge, and San Francisco, there are few spots in America populated more by liberal elites than our fair town.
Ouch. Bring on the group catharsis.
But we can't keep it up forever or the food stops showing up on the table and we have to resort to drinking crappy beer and smoking the stuff from the bottom shelf. All things considered, we don't want that, do we? Somewhere, sometime, we have to take that one step back and survey the wasteland we used to call "our country" and say, "Hey, maybe it's not so bad after all..."
Now, good citizens, here's a question to see whether you paid attention during that high school course in American history: Do you really think it's an accident that the election is always in early November and that our day of Thanksgiving comes just a few weeks later? Could that bunch of white guys we call Founding Fathers possibly have been soooo smart that they just knew that our quadrennial exercise of democracy would be soooo painful that the peace of our nation would depend upon the administration of large doses of tryptophan to We the People just a few weeks later?
Well, as nice of a story as that might make, Thanksgiving didn't become an official national affair until just after the Civil War. So, any link between the elections and Thanksgiving turns out to be just another lucky break that makes a bunch of old white guys look good.
AdvertisementStill, Thanksgiving in years evenly divisible by four is a great time for reflection on the challenge once posed to us by that great American 20th-century philosopher, Dr. Seuss — "Do you know how lucky you are?" It's not just comparing our trials and tribulations to the ever more challenging lives of the citizens of Ga-Zair, Grooz, and Ronk that should make us appreciate our good fortune. We are pretty lucky and it would be a shame to forget that on Thanksgiving.
"How can we possibly be lucky with that man as president?" we, in our cathartic state, ask.
Well, first, if you're reading this, the odds are good that you live on planet Earth. For centuries we have been searching the universe for other planets that could support life as we know it with a touch of Maui and found nothing. Have you looked at the weather forecast on Mars lately?
Second, we live in Boulder, Colorado. Geez, do I really need to say more? Colorado has natural beauty, great weather, diverse culture, enlightened thinking, and above-average Mexican food. California should have it so good.
Boulder takes Colorado a step further. Add to it healthy lifestyles, abundant open space, nine wins by the Colorado Buffaloes, and a "liberal-elite-and-proud-of-it" attitude and, you are pretty close to heaven. Home sweet home.
Third, while we may be spending this moment feeling hopeless about our nation's government, trust that this is neither new nor permanent. Yeah, maybe all those deplorables did band together and surprise us in a most unpleasant way, but the wheels of government were designed by those old white guys to turn slowly and never permanently in the same direction without broad national consensus. So, either 1) the swamp will be drained in ways we can all agree upon, 2) the pendulum will start to swing back, or 3) we'll find some new metaphors to describe the self-correcting nature of our American political system. Whatever it is, it won't feel this bad for too long.
Fourth, who cares about those scary swamp clowns anyway? Colorado and Boulder make most of our own laws and our leaders are not nuts. OK, maybe they are nuts, but they are our nuts, which is somehow better. Way better.
So, sometime early on Thanksgiving Day, take a few deep yoga breaths and count your blessings, which are many. The snow is starting to fall and the ski slopes are getting ready. The Broncos and Buffs are on the road to possible national championships. The hiking trails of Chautauqua are still open and it's going to be a sunny fall day. And, maybe best of all, your dose of tryptophan is in the oven and, boy, does it smell good...
