Thanksgiving is a Humanist holiday

[Ian David]

Thanksgiving is a humanist holiday

Religious people need to acknowledge that Thanksgiving isn’t a religious holiday, it is a Humanist holiday. Thanksgiving is a celebration of the peace and cooperation that the Native Americans shared with the Puritans shortly before the Puritans and the rest of the Europeans who came to America at that time attempted to kick the Native Americans off their land and slaughter them in many different horrifying ways. But I digress.

Thanksgiving is a harvest festival in which we celebrate diversity, cooperation, and sharing. It is a time in which we are thankful to all those fellow humans being who came before us and who have paved the way for the luxuries which we enjoy today. It is important to acknowledge that scientific advancements don't just happen over night and aren't the achievements of one singular scientist, but are the continual efforts of our past and present. We stand on the shoulders of those who came before us and on this holiday, we must acknowledge that and be thankful for their efforts.

Just as the Native Americans shared food and farming techniques with the Europeans, today we share food, knowledge, and technology with those in need. Today we must remember to thank our fellow human beings for helping to contribute to human progress and human prosperity. We need to remember that the computers we use and the heaters that keep us warm were the contributions of others and we must be thankful for those conveniences and the many other conveniences that we too often take for granted.

But we also have to look at our own lives and take a moment or two to recognize and aspire to the contributions that we make and/or intend to make for future generations and for posterity. Just as we stand on the shoulders of the accomplishments of people in the past, the future will stand on our shoulders. We all ought to take a moment during this Thanksgiving to think about what ways we can help to carry Human progress into the future. What will you do to earn the thanks of future generations?

More:
http://www.examiner.com/x-8928-Philadelphia-Atheism-Examiner~y2009m11d25-Thanksgiving-is-a-humanist-holiday

[GMA]

1. I like your post,

but...the...Puritans...were...religious. That was an integral part of their lives and beings. And that's okay. It's okay for Thanksgiving to be humanist, and spiritual. They go well together.

[Dogmudgeon]

2. It was STOLEN from the Pagans!!!!

It used to be called Turkeymas (Birdhain in Gaelic).

:evilgrin:

--d!