Cal Thomas: Thankful to whom and for what?
In a thought-provoking commentary, Cal Thomas reflects on the evolving nature of gratitude and Thanksgiving in contemporary society, expressing concern over the diminishing significance of these values. He highlights a disconcerting trend in everyday interactions, where responses to expressions of thanks have shifted from the traditional “you’re welcome” to the more casual “no problem.” This linguistic shift raises questions about the underlying meaning of gratitude and whether it is being trivialized in our increasingly consumer-driven culture. Thomas argues that such responses suggest that thanking someone could be perceived as an inconvenience, which undermines the essence of appreciation.
Delving deeper, Thomas contrasts the original spirit of Thanksgiving, rooted in the Pilgrims’ gratitude for divine blessings amid hardship, with today’s commercialization of the holiday. He notes how Thanksgiving has become overshadowed by the consumer frenzy of Christmas, with Black Friday sales creeping into the calendar even before Halloween. This transformation, he argues, reduces Thanksgiving to merely a day of indulgence and football, stripping it of its historical and spiritual significance. Thomas references President Abraham Lincoln’s 1863 proclamation that established Thanksgiving as a national holiday, emphasizing Lincoln’s call for national gratitude and penitence during a tumultuous period in American history. He reflects on Lincoln’s words, which remind us to acknowledge our blessings while also recognizing the need for humility and repentance for national transgressions.
As we approach this Thanksgiving, Thomas encourages a return to the core values of gratitude and reflection that the holiday embodies. He suggests that, amid the rush of consumption, it is essential to remember the source of our blessings and to embrace an attitude of humility. By doing so, he believes we can foster a more meaningful Thanksgiving experience that honors both our heritage and our responsibilities as a nation. Ultimately, Thomas calls for a collective moment of introspection, positing that a “heaping serving of humble pie” should accompany our traditional feasts this year, urging readers to embrace a spirit of repentance and gratitude as they gather around their tables.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewmefM76XfU
Among my growing list of improper uses of the English language is the response I get when telling a restaurant server or anyone else “thank you.” The usual response has been for as long as I remember, “you’re welcome.” For the young, especially, it has become “no problem.”
Why would thanking someone for a service or kindness performed be considered a problem? What does that even mean?
Thanksgiving, which mythically began when the Pilgrims and early settlers thanked God for His “many blessings,” despite their difficult circumstances, is now a small bump in the road on the way to the annual conspicuous consumption called Christmas. The airlines are thankful because of heavy travel that leads to large profits. Thanksgiving, as well as approaching Christmas, have lost their unique status – at least among secularist marketers – and have now been blended into “the holidays.” That’s a problem.
There once was a time – and I still remember it – when most of the Christmas rush began after Thanksgiving. Now we have Black Friday beginning in some TV ads before Halloween. Thanksgiving has taken a back seat to Christmas commercialism. It is now a one-day stuffing, not just of the turkey, but of ourselves, plus a couple of football games.
While the early settlers and Pilgrims were known for thanking God for His blessings, it wasn’t until 1863 that President Abraham Lincoln established Thanksgiving as a national holiday. In hisÂ
proclamation
 declaring the last Thursday in November a day of thanksgiving, Lincoln said this about the blessings Americans had received:
“To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature that they cannot fail to penetrate and even soften the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God.”
The proclamation was issued after the Battle of Gettysburg, a bloody conflict in the Civil War, a war which was still not over. If a nation in the midst of such a great internal struggle could find things to be thankful for, what about us? In our rush to consume, do we any longer regard God as the source of our undeserved blessings?
Something even more profound came later in the proclamation. Speaking to his fellow citizens, Lincoln wrote:
“I recommend to them that, while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience.”
When was the last time you heard a national leader recommend penitence? The scriptures are clear … nothing gets God’s attention quite like repentance. It is then His mercy flows. When he first ran for president in 2016, I asked Donald Trump if he had ever felt the need to ask for forgiveness, or repent. He said “No. Perhaps someday I will.”
God once said for the sake of 10 righteous people He would not destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. Like the people in those ancient cities, we have many sins for which we should repent. I’m not exactly sure how God will respond as His people pray – seeking His forgiveness for our national sins. But I do know that it is an appropriate attitude as we gather, and a long-standing tradition to reintroduce around our table.
Perhaps a heaping serving of humble pie should also be on today’s Thanksgiving menu.
Readers may email Cal Thomas atÂ
tcaeditors@tribpub.com
. Look for Cal Thomas’ latest book “A Watchman in the Night: What I’ve Seen Over 50 Years Reporting on America” (HumanixBooks).
