Thanksgiving Under Trump and the Awakening of Corporate America

Thanksgiving under Trump is a partisan affair. This is but the most recent American tradition that is being undermined by this president. Instead of unifying Americans Trump is lauding himself and sewing conflict. He spews his caustic venom to erode the center and breed division.

Trump's shameless capacity for self promotion knows no bounds. In a public call to US military leaders he maligned the judiciary for ruling against his immigration policy. Rather than focus on Thanksgiving well-wishes for all Americans he used the occassion to attack his enemies and sell his narrative.

Canadian Thanksgiving is at Odds with Columbus Day

Although they co-occur, in many respects Columbus Day and Canadian Thanksgiving are diametrically opposed to each other. While Canadian Thanksgiving is a harvest festival celebrating nature's bounty, Columbus Day marks the start of our systematic destruction of the natural world.

Monday October 12th is Canadian Thanksgiving a time to be grateful, it is also Columbus day in most parts of the new world. It is hard to reconcile the start of our exploitation of the new world and the expression of gratitude for the bountiful harvests nature provides. 

Reflections on Columbus Day and Canadian Thanksgiving

Monday October 13th is Columbus day in most parts of the new world, in Canada it is Thanksgiving. Columbus day and Canadian Thanksgiving offer us an opportunity to reflect and be grateful for the bounty of life in the new world. It is also propitious that we should think about our impact on the natural world at this time of year. Since 1970, Columbus day has been celebrated on the second Monday in October. As of 1959, this day is also Thanksgiving in Canada. Columbus day marks the start of our habitation of the new world and Thanksgiving is a time where we express our gratitude for the bountiful harvests nature provides.

Video - Nature's Beauty: Life is a Gift and the Only Appropriate Response is Gratefulness

Stunning time-lapse photography from Louie Schwartzberg, accompanied by powerful words from Benedictine monk Brother David Steindl-Rast. "Nature is a life giving water if you only open your heart and drink."

Video - Thank the Bees for Your Thanksgiving Dinner

This is what a Thanksgiving meal would look like if we lost our pollinators. Bees are essential to so much of our agriculture. We must do all we can to protect them from human activities.

Environmental Gratitude and Ecological Advocacy

Environmental gratitude is an approach that can help to inspire ecological action. We need a new way of communicating the urgency of environmental action because it is becoming increasingly apparent that standard fact-based approaches are not getting through.

Environmental gratitude encompasses an approach that engenders a full compliment of sentiments required to augur change. As reported in Psychology Today, gratitude is a complex feeling that is capable of expanding our awareness and relating us to the wider world.

The importance of gratitude to the ecological movement is reviewed in great depth in a 2011 paper by Reed Elizabeth Loder, titled “Gratitude and the Environment: Toward Individual and Collective Virtue.” Professor Loder is an accomplished ethicist who teaches at Vermont Law School.

A Thanksgiving Infused with Environmental Gratitude

Today is Thanksgiving in the United States and people across the nation are celebrating by coming together to give thanks. Traditionally Thanksgiving is the holiday long weekend when people get together to celebrate the bounty of the fall harvest. The Thanksgiving tradition takes us back to the early days when European settlers were first making North America home. They were welcomed by Native peoples who showed them how to live in harmony with the Earth.

With our environment in crisis we need to cultivate the spirit of thankfulness that helps us to rekindle a harmonious relationship to nature. Gratitude of this kind may be difficult but it is essential if we are to find the motivation and the courage to advance ecological action.

A Word of Thanks from President Obama (Video)

After the announcement of his elelction victory President Obama made a surprise visit to the campaign office in Chicago to give a heartfelt thank-you to staff and volunteers. President Obama thanked his team and his supporters all around the world "I'm Really Proud of All of You. Thank you. This is your victory". He wasn't just talking to those in Chicago—he was talking to everyone who supported him.