A Canadian Tribute to the US Thanksgiving
Two years ago, I came out of retirement to take a temporary assignment in southern California. This meant moving to Ventura from British Columbia for the better part of a year. I happened to be there for the fourth Thursday of November. Thanksgiving in America is a much bigger deal than it is above the 49th parallel. The days surrounding the holiday are the most travelled of the year. Families and friends come together to give thanks. Strangers wish you a Happy Thanksgiving. Americans believe no one should be alone on this important day. I’m certain that’s the reason my wife and I were invited to Thanksgiving dinner by people we barely knew.
On reflection of this nation’s celebration, I came to realize that Thanksgiving epitomizes America the Good. You see kindness in the people. That’s not to say they are always civilized to one another, especially in political debate as witnessed in the months leading up to the election; right and left wing positions are as hardened as ever. Yet, apart from an insatiable race for the almighty buck, an infatuation with celebrities, and a few other vices I need not mention, American values are admirable.
Any student of history will tell you that every great nation crumbles when it succumbs to complacency – when its leaders and its citizens forget that “privilege” does not mean “right.”
This brings me to the tattered flag that hung in shame from my neighbor’s California beach house. Not only on the homeland, but throughout the world the Stars & Stripes has stood for American ideals such as liberty, happiness and equality for all. The red, white and blue rag that I saw blowing in the wind every day was an outrage. Yet, I could not avoid the tattered rag’s symbolism – that of a once great nation, now burdened by debt, unemployment, homelessness, and divisiveness. Any student of history will tell you that every great nation crumbles when it succumbs to complacency – when its leaders and its citizens forget that “privilege” does not mean “right.” As with most things in life, the harder you work for a privilege, the more you appreciate it.
Like a troubled company swimming in red ink, America has its work cut out for it. Politicians say they have the “will” but they seldom show the “way.” Maybe it is time to return to those old fashioned values, the ones that built this remarkable country in the first place – what harm could come from hard work, personal sacrifice and acceptance of responsibility? I’ve got a hunch bringing these values back into the family unit might be a heck of a good start for our friends south of the line.
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Image credit: kwasny221 / 123RF Stock Photo
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John Bell
John Bell is a retired CEO of coffee/confectioner Jacobs Suchard, now part of Kraft. As a strategy consultant, he has counseled some of the globe’s most respected blue-chip consumer goods companies. A past contributor to Fortune magazine, he currently seeks a publisher for his first novel. John can be reached at his blog http://www.ceoafterlife.com/
