THANKSGIVING

 

"From too much love of living, from hope and fear set free,

    We thank with brief thanksgiving whatever gods may be

That no man lives forever, that dead men rise up never;

That even the weariest river winds somewhere safe to sea"

                                  Algernon Charles Swinburne (1837-1909)

I suddenly realize, having fallen victim to Covid fatigue, not to mention severe writer's block, that I've not written a blog in two months.  Always seeking my muse and inspiration, it came to me that this is a year for firsts, especially for me, some pleasant but not always.  Maybe it's the approaching Thanksgiving that has given me pause to look back on 2020...or as Queen Elizabeth II has said in 1992, "1992 is not a year on which I shall look back with undiluted pleasure.  In the words of one of my more sympathetic correspondents, it has turned out to be an annus horribilis."  She had, in fact, experienced many personal and family tragedies.

Fortunately, to wit, I have not. The brightest moment of my year, not by any means "horribilis", was to finally become a grandfather to a charming and engaging granddaughter.  She gives me much hope for our future.  I just pray her future is fortunate to have peace, breathable air and clean water to drink. I know her parents will work to assure that.

No, the downside of this year has really been collective and communal.  Two "firsts" that come to mind are a worldwide pandemic and a political disaster, neither of which I've seen the likes of during my lifetime. To say the least, they have affected us all greatly.

As of today, 255,000 of my fellow Americans have died in the past nine months.  Journalists have taken to put this figure into perspective by saying how many automobile fatalities, 9/11's, WWI and II's, and Viet Nam Wars this figure encompasses.  On each Friday evening, the NPR Newshour ends with a tribute to five of those we've lost.  They are essential workers, teachers, physicians, nurses and other healthcare providers as well as those in senior living quarters who have led full, rich lives filled with love of family, immigrants who have come here to seek a better life, and so many more decent individuals who were, unfortunately, overtaken by this deadly microbe.

A young OB-GYN Resident in Houston, just starting out in her career sadly died from Covid-19

We were ill-prepared and terribly deceived by our national leaders, having lead to a politicization of scientific evidence-based facts.  Initially informed the pandemic would "miraculously" go away and that it was a hoax, we've come to see a divide among our citizens, those who listen to politicians and those who accept the science.  Even today, there are people dying from Covid-19 who will not accept the cause of their illness, verbally attacking brave health care providers and asking them to remove their PPE!  The nation has become the victim of gross negligence and skepticism. I have actually fact-checked this because I found it incredible but true: The former Presidential Advisor, the notorious Steve Bannon actually suggested that in a second Trump term, he would advise that Dr. Anthony Fauci, one of our most revered and respected infectious disease specialists who has served six Presidents, have his head put on a pike (as well as that of Christopher Wray, the Director of the FBI)!

Over the past few days, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, once the world's paragon of respect in all matters to do with epidemiology and public health (but no longer), recommended no travel on Thanksgiving.  Our TSA is reporting record numbers of air travelers since the start of the pandemic. I caught a news piece yesterday, showing the Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport packed to the gills with people on their way to Thanksgiving.  While it was originally written about war, the old Pete Seeger song posited, "Where Have All the Flowers Gone", ..."Oh, when will they ever learn?.  I think it is applicable here.  Enough said, as I've written before, on the pandemic.

Thanksgiving 2019

Thanksgiving 2020

The political disaster I previously mentioned is that this has been the first time I've ever seen a fair and convincing victory in a national election the target of a reversal. I've heard from friends and family around the world chime in on it and, quite frankly, I and all Americans should be embarrassed.  The fact that this has been propped up by the majority of one of our two major parties makes it even more so.  Their legal protests having met with failure in the courts, they now turn towards influence peddling and, yes, even threats, to the point where some Republicans officials following the rule of law and certifying the vote tabulations,  have had to hire security details. Essentially, the President's supporters are now behaving like members of a cult, with total devotion to their leader attempting to disenfranchise the voice of the voter.  To all intents and purposes, we very might well be seeing an attempt at a coup.

I cannot say where this is leading or how it will end.  I can only say that, as an amateur historian and avid reader about how democracies are overthrown by authoritarian regimes, today's scenario sends a shiver down my spine.  Perhaps I worry too much and these attempts will come to naught.  It was only 87 years ago in Germany that a narcissistic, cultish personality, the "little Austrian Corporal", one Adolf Hitler, overthrew the Weimar Republic.  We all know how that turned out...and, if not, we should. He attacked the Press and gained control of the courts, installing his own brand of dogmatic autocracy, getting rid of his opponents in the most violent of ways.

So, as Thanksgiving 2020 approaches, I am hopeful that our nation will come to its senses, by respecting the rule of law, listening to our health experts, and cherishing our loved ones whether they are here or gone.  It is, perhaps, a naive wish, but as a fan of Rodgers and Hammerstein, I'd like to leave you with the lyrics of a song that has always kept me sane...

When the sky is a bright canary yellow

I forget every cloud I've ever seen

So they called me a cockeyed optimist

Immature and incurably green

I have heard people rant and rave and bellow

That we're done and we might as well be dead

But I'm only a cockeyed optimist

And I can't get it into my head

I hear the human race

Is fallin' on its face

And hasn't very far to go

But every whip-for-will

Is selling me a bill

And tellin' me it just ain't so

I could say life is just a bowl of jello

And appear more intelligent and smart

But I'm stuck like a dope 

With a thing called hope

And I can't get it out of my heart

Not this heart

Wishing you all a safe, happy and peaceful Thanksgiving!