Giving thanks in a troubled land

This opinion piece comes from the Associated Baptist Press.
David Gushee is distinguished university professor of Christian ethics at Mercer University.


Thanksgiving week is upon us. The annual celebration centered on gratitude for God’s blessings -- for our nation, for family and all other good gifts -- comes to a troubled, hungry, divided nation this year.

Thanksgiving was originally a harvest festival. It still conjures up images of abundant material blessings in a fruitful land. Those with means still gather around tables groaning under the weight of turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie.

But while our farms are still fruitful, our economic system today leaves out fully one-sixth of all Americans. A recent study placed the number of Americans facing “food insecurity” at 49 million. Another study suggests that the real unemployment and underemployment rate stands at 17.5 percent. Both measures point to a staggering fact: At least one-sixth of all Americans are in serious financial trouble. That’s five students in a classroom of thirty, 50 people in a congregation of 300.

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Gushee goes on to discuss health-care, employment, and family needs. He concludes:

Some kids start off life in our brutally constricted economy at a serious disadvantage due to the chaos in their family lives. We must do better than this. Legislation has little contribution to make here. It’s a battle, one marriage and one family at a time.

When my tribe gathers around the Thanksgiving table on Thursday it will be the first time we have all been together for a long time. I will be grateful to God for many, many blessings. But the gratitude will be shadowed by thoughts of neighbors who are not so fortunate this Thanksgiving Day.

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