What To Be Thankful For

    Lets not hate on Disney’s Pocahontas. It’s a lovely movie and sentiment if taken out of context. As a representation of the real story? No. It is massively incorrect. We know that. Seek the truth for sure. But the message of the movie is a good one. The idea of Thanksgiving is based on a good one as well. The surrounding historical reality is completely incongruous with that day. Maybe that is exactly why and what we are most thankful for. 

    Though we wish they were less rare—those single days of thanksgiving, of moments when we show compassion and humble respect for other living things—appreciating them wherever they come from is valuable. The natives showed the pilgrims compassion that season. The pilgrims returned it that day. In the days to come with our new “president,” remember, compassion and humanity will be more important then ever.

    Autonomy, freedom, the human rights of education and choice are thought of as our founding fathers’ intentions for this country. Truth is, the constitution was written at a time when the words “all men are created equal” was accepted and assumed to mean all white men are equal. The limitations of that era still rears its ugly head. Our country has made many positive changes—much faster than many other countries in some cases, but not all—and I am grateful for that. 

    We have such potential. Some of our beginnings were built on friendship, but woman, immigrants, American Indians, African Americans among others have barely gained or kept those rights written by our revolutionary fire starters. I shudder at how far we may backslide, yet I shudder more at how far we still have to go to make all equal in this country. 

    This week, lets revel in our friendships and freedoms. Lets supplant our bipartisanship and make our preamble ring true. It is after all an innate truth; all humans are created equal. So why mention Pocahontas instead of Squanto? I feel like more people are aware of (and bothered by) the changes to that story. We may celebrate Thanksgiving every year, but the actual story referred to as the first Thanksgiving is much more obscure. It is fascinating how successful Disney is at both inflaming and influencing the world’s view of reality. Many people may be unaware of the rewrites. Others are appalled and attempt to boycott on principle. Ironically, the rewrite is a beautiful story…much more beautiful than its original. Perhaps it was written as a wish. 

    Ignoring the inaccuracies of the Disney-fied Pocahontas could be viewed as a gross injustice, it's true. Or we can listen to the words and songs, take the beauty at face value without hate for its agenda, and let it afford us a moment of understanding. What is the real history? Still look for the truth, or as close to it as our data can get us at this distant analysis. Read on. Research is always the key, and perspective.  

    Yes, I am thankful for all our country’s progress. I sure do hope I am able to be thankful for a whole lot more of it next year…or the year after that, and every year afterwards.

May nerd-dom abound!

Katrina Pavlovich

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Quote-of-the-day

"We cannot tell the precise moment when friendship is formed. As in filling a vessel drop by drop, there is at last a drop which makes it run over; so in a series of kindnesses there is at last one which makes the heart run over." --Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451