What’s a blog without the celebratory holiday post? Thanksgiving ladies and gentleman. Thanksgiving in 2016. What a time to be alive!
First off, I’d like to thank the reader for taking time out of your oh so busy schedule to read my post. You are the real MVP (Most Valuable Person). Which, better include all of my close family and friends, because if not then WTF. Second, thank God, in whatever form it presents itself. Thank you.
Now, let’s look at Thanksgiving. A great holiday with one of the most hypocritical beginnings we celebrate. The day in which we feast on the presumptive anniversary of a moment in early American history. A brief moment of harmony between early Pilgrims and Wampanoag Native Americans followed by decades and near centuries of genocide followed by disregard of Native American rights and autonomy. A conflict that should be especially highlighted in the recent battle against the pillaging of the sacred land and water resources of the Sioux Nation at Standing Rock for South Dakota’s Access pipeline. One of too many historic examples of how the United States tramples on the rights of Native Americans and how old energy goliaths swing their wealth and influence at resistance in the form of militarized police and silence of the subject by “real news”.
The current Sioux Nation at Standing Rock fans the flame of the long burning tradition of Native American protest for their own sovereignty. The occupation of Alcatraz, of Wounded Knee, the Missouri River dam protests of 1999, and many more. This fight, however, is different. It is coming at the eve of a new energy wave with companies like Tesla creating superior solar energy than ever before. It is also in the wake of a presidential election where President-Elect Trump promised to deregulate and is incredibly skeptic of human induced climate change. A resistance to the ways of fossil fuel and old energy and a fight for the protection of our earth.
But, in a world of commodified dating in the form of apps like tinder, silenced protests at Standing Rock, streamlined social connections through social media, the Black Friday phenomenon that pits shopper against shopper after giving thanks for what we have, deep ideological divisions in society, mainstream media’s attempted puppeteering of culture, engineered hopes in the shape of gigantic lottery sums; giving thanks for what is substantial and what is real is a revolutionary act. As with being honest, loving your fellow humans and respecting our Earth. Let us partake in that act and giving thanks.
Let us applaud the pockets of just protest around our great nation. The participants and vanguard adhering to the principles of justice and peaceful protest. Reminding us that freedom is not always won by soldiers on the blood soaked battlefield of war. Freedom can also be earned on a different plane, by exposing the violent sadism of power structures against earth and life. A sadism that seems to erupt into a shrieking rage when faced with the defiance of an oppressed people. The defiance of requesting to be seen as a humanistic body instead of a incessant obstacle blocking traffic with claims like “don’t disrupt and demolish my sacred land” or “Black Lives Matter”. We give thanks to all you warriors.
Thanksgiving is probably my favorite holiday mind you. The gathering of family and friends to offer our gratitude. It truly is a beautiful thing but I am not so naive to blindly be thankful and forget about the struggles that are currently taking place that I want to be thankful for in the future.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Let’s cultivate more reasons to be thankful.
By Wendyam M Ouedraogo
More Democracy 