Thoughts On Thanksgiving Thread
by Chris Bowers, Tue Nov 21, 2006 at 05:25:26 PM EST
This morning, while waiting for my plane to board, CNN Headline News was on in the gate. Liz and I had arrived more than an hour before boarding, and even though we were not watching the television, we still had to suffer through the background noise of Michael Richards' apology roughly six times. Much to my surprise, we also had to suffer through an old advertisement, circa late 2001, that I had not heard in years. You probably remember this ad. It features hotel and restaurants workers echoing George W. Bush as he explains to Americans what is expected of them in a post-9/11 world. Point blank, we are told that we need to do nothing more than continue consuming. As long as we continue spending money, our patriotic and community duties will have been fulfilled. That was the offensive advice we were given from our leaders after 9/11: spend money. What blows my mind is that, five years later, as Bush's approval rating has dropped from 85% to 35%, and with his utterly rejected by the American populace only two weeks ago, that someone still finds that ad worth running at all.
The immediate aftermath of 9/11 was not the only time when conservatives have demanded that some of our most cherished values be subsumed into consumerism. A large part of the so-called War On Christmas (are they holding that again this year?) centers around conservative demands that private retail companies prominently display slogans like "Merry Christmas" instead of "Happy Holidays." Personally, do not understand why anyone would want their religious beliefs subsumed into what tend to be the tacky and often crass decorations of private corporations. However, since these demands seem to come from the same people who told us that there was no difference between patriotism and consumerism (even that consumerism was the highest form of patriotism), clearly there is some powerful urge on the part of conservatism to express all of its values within, and subsume all of its values to, the commercial realm.
It is in this environment that I, for one, welcome and cherish Thanksgiving while it lasts. Thanksgiving is a holiday that has, for nearly two decades, been all but abandoned as a commercial enterprise. Malls and airports have had no problem displaying Christmas-themed decorations weeks before Thanksgiving for may years now. Advertising of all kinds has all but skipped Thanksgiving, and now we see Christmas-giving related ads starting in early November. Many Christmas movies have already opened, but you don't even see many television specials on it anymore. In short, our consumer culture has waged a successful and thoroughgoing war on Thanksgiving. At this point, Thanksgiving is all but dead as an element in consumer culture.
Despite it's consumer death, Thanksgiving is still celebrated around the country. In fact, nationwide, it may have more participants than any other holiday. People gather, spend time with their families and loved ones, and give thanks. It is tasteful, meaningful, private, and yet nearly universal. If only more of our holidays could be like this, I would be pretty happy. Even if I don't eat turkey anymore, this is truly one of my favorite holidays, since we don't have to be big consumers to spend time with one another. I hope you are able to have a truly happy Thanksgiving, and spend it with the people you love.
This is an open thread for all things Thanksgiving.
Tags: Media, culture (all tags)
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