Why impeachment watchers need a Thanksgiving break
Americans riveted by the House impeachment hearings might welcome a break over Thanksgiving. In theory, the holiday is a time to wrestle a turkey bone rather than the Trump administration. It is a time to revel in family and friends rather than one鈥檚 favorite fibbers and foes. It is a time, as Pilgrim father Edward Winslow described that post-harvest day in 1621, to 鈥渞ejoice together.鈥�
In particular, this year鈥檚 Thanksgiving needs a bit of shared joy along with the gratitude and grace. According to an October poll, 2 out of 3 voters say the United States is on the 鈥渆dge of civil war.鈥� Independents are even more worried than partisans about the political divide in the country.
Swords are not being drawn yet. But words are. Personal incivility may be at an all-time high in today鈥檚 cut-and-parry politics. If words were swords, the political landscape might look like a turkey carcass late on Thanksgiving Day.
In 2019, the most quintessential of American holidays is a time to sheathe the words of rancor. And it is a time to recall why Abraham Lincoln turned what was once a sporadic national occasion into a regular event that draws people together to practice the core meaning of the holiday.
In 1863, during the darkest period of the Civil War when the Union was at stake, Lincoln鈥檚 Thanksgiving Proclamation served as a call to love one鈥檚 enemies. He asked that God鈥檚 鈥済racious gifts鈥� be 鈥渁cknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People.鈥� With that purpose set in motion, the holiday easily persisted as a tradition.
Perhaps more than the Pilgrim story 鈥� with its troubling meaning for Native Americans 鈥� Lincoln鈥檚 moment of proclaiming Thanksgiving would be a better historical marker in the 21st century. He saw the giving of thanks, and the humility it requires, as a healer of a broken constitutional order in a democratic society. Gratitude helps open doors to consensus and harmony. G.K. Chesterton called it 鈥渢he highest form of thought.鈥�
This Thanksgiving could serve as an opportunity to lift thought for the next round of impeachment proceedings.
That alone would be worth rejoicing.
