First Thanksgiving Lessons
November 25th, 2009 by John Creighton in Dispatches
Most American school children learn the story of the First Thanksgiving. School lessons, projects and pageants etch into our collective narrative images of Pilgrims and Native Americans celebrating survival and sharing the bounty of a successful harvest. My mother kept a diorama I made of First Thanksgiving scene in the first or second grade. She placed it on the dining room buffet each November along with other family decorations.
We often think about the First Thanksgiving story only as tale to relate historical context for our annual celebration. (My Washington Times Communities colleague Carla Harper provides a Historical Context of the American Thanksgiving). But, what can the story of the surviving Plymouth Pilgrims and the Wampanoag Indians who gathered in 1621 teach us about present day community life? To what extent do our day-to-day behaviors honor the legacy of the First Thanksgiving celebrants? What does it mean to exercise these 17th Century values in modern day life?
I have the good fortune to spend Thanksgiving week with family. We’ve talked about what lessons we learned from the First Thanksgiving narrative. There are three values demonstrated by the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag that stand out for me.
Perseverance. It is hard to imagine the hardships endured by the Plymouth Pilgrims no matter how many times we hear their story. It is equally hard for me to imagine the hardships endured by my ancestors who settled as pioneers on the Great Plains though I’ve read countless accounts of their experience. Our brains don’t seem to be wired to truly grasp the travails of others.
But, each generation is tested anew. We Americans are tested today by a severe recession, enduring unemployment, hyper-partisan politics and (ironic in the midst of a severe recession) learning how to manage historic abundance. Our challenges with abundance are the opposite of those faced by the Plymouth Pilgrims.
The Pilgrims taught us that survival begins with faith. We must believe that it is possible to reach a better place or persevering becomes pointless. It is faith that sustains the emotional energy to work hard even during the darkest hours.
Compassion. The Wampanoag had to deal with the uncertainty of strangers entering their homeland. There is a human instinct to perceive outsiders as invaders who are a threat to our way of life. The First Thanksgiving narrative teaches us that the Wampanoag resisted the natural human emotion of fear. They saw the Pilgrims suffering ill served by their European customs in a new land. Rather than shun the Pilgrims the Wampanoag offered a helping hand teaching the new immigrants how to survive.
We Americans live in a land that continues to attract new immigrants in search of a better future. What is the appropriate response to these newcomers? Is it appropriate to shut them out? Or, can we learn lessons from the Wampanoag? I would like to think we can find the compassion in our hearts to help the latest generation of newcomers learn ways to survive and flourish in their new home.
Thankfulness. It seems obvious to cite being thankful as a lesson to learn from the First Thanksgiving story. Families across the nation will sit at their dinner tables and take turns reciting what each person is thankful for this year. Stating what we’re thankful for on Thanksgiving is something we all do. Sometimes we express sentiments full of meaning. Sometimes our recitations are just habit.
The Plymouth survivors had obvious reasons to be thankful. They dealt with the most severe forms of scarcity. But what does it mean to be thankful in an era of vast abundance? With all our choices of consumer pleasures are we able to appreciate those things which truly sustain the human spirit? Is it enough to take turns telling our loved ones what we’re thankful for over an annual turkey dinner? What are the best ways to demonstrate our gratitude for the good fortunes in our lives?
Most Thanksgivings I think mostly about what I am thankful for from a personal perspective. I am grateful that my list is long. This year I also am giving thought to how I can honor the legacy of the First Thanksgiving celebrants in my own community.
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Picture credit: Plymouth Rock by Flickr user Woychik stuff.