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When you think about
Thanksgiving, what is the first thing that enters your mind?
For most people, it
is probably some sort of food – moist turkey breast, buttery mashed potatoes,
brown sugar-glazed sweet potatoes (you know… with smoking marshmallows on top,)
or pumpkin pie with a dollop of whipped cream.
Or, you might have
thoughts about family or friends that you haven’t seen for a long time, how to
decorate the house, or how to get where you’re going without getting stuck in
traffic.
Once Thanksgiving Day
is here and family and friends begin to arrive, then, there will be
conversations, topics of discussion, stories to share and catching up to do.
However, I’ll guess
that too few of us have our immediate thoughts turn toward being thankful.
Being thankful
should be an all-consuming attitude, but it rarely is. Our lives are too busy
for that. And, there is so much work to be done. We get tangled in the tyranny
of the urgent while ignoring the simple things that fill our days and give purpose
to our lives.
A thankful attitude
begins with our own humble recognition of where we came from and what our
short-comings might be. During moments of reflection, thankfulness shows up as
the genuine respect and heartfelt gratitude for those who have impacted our
lives.
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While we are thankful
for the material things we possess we should be most thankful for the people
and the intertwining relationships that they bring into our lives. Although we might say, “I’m thankful for my
car,” what we mean is, “I’m thankful to those who purchased, repaired, provided
for, or loaned me the car that I drive.” This is true even if you bought and
paid for your own car, because you are employed by someone (even yourself), you
provide for your customers who purchase the goods or services that you supply.
They, in turn, reward your life with the results from their endeavors.
In Johannes
Althusius’ famous treatise of 1614, Politica, Althusius describes his
understanding of the community as a harmonious ordering of natural
associations. Certainly, the family comes first in this community, but there is
a host of dependent associations that can’t be overlooked. He identifies God as
the first cause of all our relationships and the family as the most natural and
important of all human associations. Any other associations or unions grow from
these first relationships. He writes,
“Truly, in living this life no man is self-sufficient, or
adequately endowed by nature. For when he is born, destitute of all help, naked
and defenseless, as if having lost all his goods in a shipwreck, he is cast
forth into the hardships of this life, not able by his own efforts to reach a
maternal breast, nor to endure the harshness of his condition, nor to move
himself from the place where he was cast forth. By his weeping and tears, he
can initiate nothing except the most miserable life, a very certain sign of
pressing and immediate misfortune.”
Althusius continues,
“Bereft of all counsel and aid, for
which nevertheless he is then in greatest need, he is unable to help himself
without the intervention and assistance of another. Even if he is well
nourished in body, he cannot show forth the light of reason. Nor in his
adulthood is he able to obtain in and by himself those outward goods he needs
for a comfortable and holy life, or to provide by his own energies all the
requirements of life. The energies and industry of many men are expended to
procure and supply these things.”
It is no accident
that this continent’s first settlers joined together with their immediate
community to offer thoughts of thanksgiving to their God, their families, their
friends, co-workers, and associates. These celebrations of old are simply the
natural outgrowth of a moment of common reflection. Any reasonable assessment
of our own skills, abilities, and habits would lead each of us to a thankful
understanding for those who daily intervene in our lives.
This is a small
variation of the circle of life, where each person voluntarily contributes to
the health and well-being of the community through open and free access to the
marketplace.
Adam Smith described
this in his book, the Wealth of Nations, (1776). Smith mentions the
useful efforts of workmen and women in the marketplace. He then jolts us with the
realization that the market place does not need altruistic motives to meet the
needs of the community. Smith’s narrative explains that it is not from sheer
benevolence that the butcher, brewer or baker provides us with our steak, beer
and bread. But, rather, they provide these services from regard for their own
family’s interests. Their goods and services are needed and enjoyed by the
community and in return, these entrepreneurs receive monies to supply their own
family’s needs.
In one of President
Abraham Lincoln’s Proclamations for Thanksgiving, he states,
“The year that is drawing towards its close has been
filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these
bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the
source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so
extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the
heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of
Almighty God.”
I hope this year, you
too, get the opportunity to reflect and share in a bountiful Thanksgiving
celebration.
Remember, if we don't stand for rural Oregon values, common-sense and our great American Traditions – No one will!
 Dennis Linthicum
Oregon State Senate 28
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1728
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE, S-305, Salem, Oregon 97301
Email: sen.DennisLinthicum@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/linthicum
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