Published in March of this year, Rasmussen Reports found that about 40% of Americans said that last November’s Presidential election had hurt their relationships within the family. This figure is a stark leap from the 26% of Americans who had reported that the Presidential campaign itself, leading up to election day, had had a negative impact on family relationships. Photo courtesy of Public Domain Photos.
21 November 2017
It cannot—or should not—go unwritten that it’s been an interesting 11 months.
A little more than a year ago, one of the most personally and politically divisive Presidential campaigns concluded with the election of one of the most personally and politically divisive candidates in Presidential history.
And across the nation, there exists a strong likelihood that the Thanksgiving dinner table could be a little … shall we say? … awkward this year. If you can appreciate how divided the nation as a whole has been over the course of the last year, you can probably appreciate that individual families have been similarly rattled by the events of last year.
Charlottesville, NC.
“Did you see what the President tweeted today?”
The government’s response to Puerto Rico.
Roy Moore and Al Franken.
Las Vegas, NV, and Sutherland Springs, TX.
“Did you see what the President tweeted today?”
It has been a rough few months for us all. No matter what end of the spectrum our ideals are on. However, we have to appreciate that today exists as an opportunity to for us to better ourselves. Even if it is only in the slightest bit. It may not change the world, but it can provide the smallest amount of solace in a time where peace and comfort seem out of reach.
This Thanksgiving, instead of having that political argument we know all too well … argue about who will play as the race car in the family Monopoly game. Argue, instead, about the outcome of the Thanksgiving football game.
The kindness we should all be expressing today isn’t the kindness you find in grand gestures. Although no form of kindness is ever deterred, but it is the kindness that is found in everyday gestures, that can make us just a little bit better.
This Thanksgiving, instead of having that political argument we know all too well, the one that leads to a cousin or an uncle preaching about their opinion on this past year’s political field, which leaves some of the family feeling quite disconnected, warranting for some awkward silence, just don’t.
Instead, argue about who will play as the race car in the family Monopoly game. Argue, instead, about the outcome of the Thanksgiving football game.
There is an infinite number of opportunities for the discussion of politics.
An infinite number of opportunities to fight with someone without any resolution.
An infinite number of opportunities to raise our voices at our loved ones.
However, there isn’t an infinite number of opportunities to have a heart-to-heart with family members we may rarely get to see.
Recall your favorite memories.
“Remember that one time Joey tripped over Charlie’s shoes?”
Tell stories that bring joy.
“We had the funniest thing happen to us on the way over.”
Play games with your loved ones.
“Scrabble or checkers?”
Thanksgiving is about acknowledging the things we are grateful for, and spreading that joy we feel because of this prosperity that we are, luckily, able to obtain.
We tend to forget to treat each other with a caring attitude when times get difficult. It’s not that we are not kind people.
We are.
It’s not that we no longer care about the world being a kind place.
We do.
After so much has happened this past year, however, we just become hostile.
We see hostility across the nation more often than not, especially in this past year. In fact, it often seems like we’re wading through a river of hostility, tip-toeing, trying not to step in the wrong place every waking minute, but we can jump to dry land for just a moment this Thanksgiving by bettering ourselves just a little bit through the kindness we all possess.
It won’t change what the world has handed us these past 11 months … but who said we cannot learn from it?
Perhaps that’s a lesson we can pass on, as we pass the potatoes.
While this editorial represents the opinion of the staff as a whole, it was written by Abby McDowell. Abby McDowell is an editor for Oswego East High School’s news magazine the HOWL