The Travesty That Is Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving conveniently happened to occur right after we finished Todorov’s Conquest of America. Coincidence? I think not. Therefore I’m dedicating this reflection to the irony of the unifying nature of Thanksgiving and the hypocrisy of the holiday.

Thanksgiving is the day we commemorate that wonderful day when Native Americans and pilgrims feasted together at the same table, celebrating the fruits of their labor. It is believed that this first meal was more of a harvest feast, rather than a meal of thanksgiving. This tradition only developed later on in American history, while the colonists were busy conquering the native heathens that helped them survive those first winters so many years ago. Only at this time, were they giving thanks for the good fortune that they had received. So what exactly is behind these heartwarming feelings that bring us together on this holiday? I would argue that we’re all just tired and need a break because, frankly, it can’t be that we’re celebrating the history of Thanksgiving.

Just as the Museum of the American Indian demonstrated, Thanksgiving is another portrayal of how the United States has not taken responsibility for the genocide of the Native Americans. We try to redeem ourselves with the exaggerated story of Thanksgiving, which is seen in what our youth is told about the holiday. We teach elementary school children that Thanksgiving is about how two different groups of people came together to share a meal and count their blessings together. However, history tells us that this is not entirely accurate, and also not the full story of Thanksgiving. Why is the United States still unable to confront its demons? Regardless, Thanksgiving is a nice holiday to celebrate because of the values we currently associate with it, as long as we ignore its murky history.

Turkey and North Korea

So, I was excited to go back down South and chow down on some turkey, but I get a news update from MSNBC at around 2 am saying that North Korea had fired several dozen artillery rounds at a South Korean island-based military installation. How am I supposed to feel about that? Way to ruin my Thanksgiving break mood, Kim Jung-Il. But, let us not forget that this is the 16th skirmish between the two Korean states since the truce was called at the end of the Korean War. So, what else can we assume? This is just a prime example of yet another simgle-party communist state flexing its muscles, hoping that the prosperous West is scared and impressed.

We have two possible end-results to this scenario: 1) Mr. Kim is bluffing - as usual, or 2) this time the 6 million man military of North Korea is actually going to put their words into action. If they are bluffing - which is the likely result - then the West will, of course, verbally sanction their actions; and if they are not bluffing, then me and every other adult male between 18 and 35 are going to get drafted. Who's ready for Korean War round 2? It's alright, the U.S. can take'em!

Reflection #14: I've never been so thankful

Even though my last reflection was basically a complete bashing of Thanksgiving and its practices, I did really enjoy being able to go home this weekend and see old friends and family while also reflecting on my semester this far. Of course knowing that the next two weeks are going to be filled with countless hours in the library and more money spent on caffeine than food makes me thankful for this short breath of fresh air.

Being that my parents weren’t raised in this country, they had a tendency of slightly overdoing most American holidays because they never wanted my brother and I to feel left out. While I never appreciated this gesture as a child, I thought about it a lot this weekend. For the first time, I felt like an outsider in my home. This emotion was neither good, nor bad but instead I found it to be incredibly interesting, and in some ways refreshing. I remembered what it was like to desperately crave my own freedom, and independence from my parents. Although they’ve treated me like an adult for as long as I can remember, I still wanted to leave. Coming back to the same town, buildings, rooms, and people made my newfound independence and growth so blatantly noticeable in a way that completely slid past my conscience while here in DC. I see things differently.

I’m no longer even moved by things that used to drive me crazy before, and I appreciate aspects of my life that I barely stopped to notice just three months ago. I used to get unbelievable irritated that my peers at my small private school didn’t think it was important to contribute to something that did not directly benefit themselves socially, or financially. I saw these same people this past weekend, and while some, like me, feel like a completely different person, there were those who remained completely unchanged. This didn’t irritate me in the slightest. I just accepted it, and appreciated when my close friends commented on my evident happiness. Gestures such as my parents’ desire to make Thanksgiving as “American” as possible stood out to me and made me appreciate this new kind of relationship that was quickly developing between my family and me.

Overall, I’m excited to get back to Letts 6 where we’ve all created some kind of new home and family, but I’m excited to return after finals and spend more time noticing these changes in myself, and the people around me.

I Give Thanks That I Do Not Live In Korea

When I should have been enjoying my weekend with my family, my dog, ham and stuffed mushrooms, and Roy Williams fumbling away the game for the Cowboys, I was too busy worrying about North Korea. Well, scratch that - I completely and totally enjoyed the Cowboys losing on Thursday. However, the worrying still stands. Although skirmishes between the Koreas are by no means unheard of, the magnitude of the latest incident is difficult to swallow. The results of any kind of open war between the nations would stink for everyone - we would probably have to at least think heavily about getting seriously involved.

Remember, the USA has been close with South Korea for a long time. Their economy is vital for the Western world; when the South accused North Korea of torpedoing one of their ships, the United States scrambled to its defense, even when independent reports raised many doubts about whether North Korea was actually responsible. It will be the US's job again to spring to South Korea's defense. We must, of course, keep in mind that North Korea may well be posturing; for example, a glance at North Korea's official government FAQ on its official website yields such claims as "the DPRK is a state free of homelessness, unemployment, prostitution, and starvation," as well as this beautiful exchange:

Q: Can I work in North Korea as a teacher/interpreter/(other)?
A: No.

It seems to me that any state that would claim these things would have no trouble playing chicken. The question is whether this time, North Korea is planning to back itself up.

Bonus Blog 2: Separation is best

“The man who finds his country sweet is only a raw beginner, the man or whom each country is as his own is already strong, but only the man for whom the whole world is as a foreign country is perfect”

I believe that Todorov is right in his statement concerning the condition of man in terms of identity. Essentially, he is arguing that the more detached a man is from one specific nation of identity, the better off he will be. Being attached to one place requires loyalty, and dependence on an external source for security, and happiness. The man who considers each country as his own is better off than the one who believes his country, and his ideals are secure and ideal because he is accepting all other nations and beliefs as his own. This is better because he is not tied down to one ideology that might fail him, or prove to be wrong in the end.

The man for whom the whole world is as a foreign country is even better off than the one who accepts each as his own because in this statement attachment is a bad thing. Therefore, separation from all ideologies and countries is better than attachment.

I can’t help but think of the Bhagavad Gita when reading Todorov’s statement. The ideal mindset for a Hindu is to be separated from all worldly things in order to purify the mind and become free from the miseries that arise from material contact. I think this is why I had trouble in class today agreeing that indifference must mean only tolerance, and not acceptance. In my opinion, being indifferent towards opposing beliefs is not necessarily a bad thing. I have a hard time agreeing that those who have faith in the accuracy of their beliefs do not accept the fact that others believe in something else with the same assurance. Compared to killing each other over these beliefs, I think this a relatively happy medium. While I’d like to believe that eventually we could all reach a level of acceptance, instead of tolerance, I think it’s a step in the right direction.

The man who sees the whole world as foreign is best off because he separated from everyone, equally. The one who accepts all others as his own is tolerant of others as equals as well, but will inevitably be confused, and overwhelmed by the need to upkeep this equal acceptance. I think Todorov is getting at the idea that maybe equal tolerance is better more logical, and far more practical than equal acceptance.

Bonus Blog: Disturbing Images

Truthfully, neither the Redskins flag, nor the museum accurately represents the Native Americans. While an entire museum has a pretty substantial advantage over the one image on a flag it is still flawed because in my opinion, not telling the complete truth about a situation is really not all that different from lying about it. The flag is not accurate or acceptable because it is a mascot for a sports team. A mascot is intended to be as vicious, tough, and violent. Therefore, using the Native American with a feather headdress and angry look on his face in supposed to represent these three qualities. Depicting the Native Americans as violent and using the most stereotypical object (a feather) to categorize this group of people is definitely the least acceptable representation of the two. In fact, the name Red-Skin is not exactly entirely acceptable either and seems a lot more offensive than “Native American.”

Photo Credit: Redskins4ever.com

Reflection #13-We're celebrating what this weekend?

What a perfect time to reflect on Native Americans, their museum, and their holiday. Oh wait. It’s not their holiday. We were lied to.

My problem with the general idea towards the past treatment of Native Americans is less about the catastrophe that resulted in a complete exploitation of culture, and de-humanization of a people, but rather the lack of care that is given to the way in which we as a society remember their history, think of them today. If you don’t believe me, just look at the fact that we call them Indians. Of all the ethnic groups that people sometimes tend to geographically misplace, whether due to the mindset that it’s irrelevant, or innocent ignorance, there’s really no excuse for this one. It baffles me that this is even an issue because despite the fact that Columbus thought he was in India, I think it’s time to recognize the fact that the was in America. Therefore, saying Indian makes no sense. However, I think the word gets thrown around a lot because many people do not want to be offensive, but as someone who is a minority in both race and religion, it is not even remotely offensive to me when someone asks for clarification on something that might potentially create an awkward situation. I believe our paranoia towards being politically correct all the time has gone too far. While I understand the purpose and respect the intention, I think this obsession tries to hide our differences, while we should embrace them instead.

In my opinion, the term “Native American” is not offensive in the slightest. This confusion about what to say is purely due to this paranoia. Sure, native could imply primitive, but I think it’s safe to say it’s understood that in this case, it’s referring to the fact that they were the first “Americans.” Especially considering that was in issue for the museum that failed to recognize the hell that these people were forced to go through. Did they really agree that the word “native” would offend the Native Americans more than our failure to recognize their genocide?

While the museum actually addresses the differences between tribes relatively well, and shows the beauty and uniqueness of these cultures, it’s almost impossible to not get the “so where’s the exhibit on how we screwed them over” feeling. I couldn’t believe how they so casually glazed over what is arguably the most defining characteristic of their history. It’s not as if the museums avoid difficult historical events. The Newseum has boxes of tissues in the 9/11 exhibit, and the Holocaust has an entire museum dedicated to its memory. I can’t help but wonder if this is because we were the ones doing the killing in this case, instead of part of the heroes and victims. Although the museum feels like some kind of commemorative apology, it’s almost insulting that such as important detain is given such little importance, again proving that we as a society just don’t really care.

Finally this brings me to Thanksgiving. This is probably the biggest slap in the face to the Native Americans. We were taught that this holiday celebrates the relationship between the first settlers and natives. Is this a joke? If we actually wanted to make an attempt to prove that we care about these people, we should start with maybe not lying to generation after generation. While the intention of celebrating all we are thankful for, and actually not giving gifts for once is something we should certainly hold on to, it’s slightly disturbing that this week thousands of kids in hundreds of schools will be forced to dress up as one of the two and re-enact the opposite of what actually happened. My point is that a sugar-coated museum really doesn’t make the situation any better if we’re just going to continue being dishonest about the past.