Thanksgiving is not a holiday to remember the dead, to recount the horrors of genocide, or to expound a diatribe on why you hate your country this week. Thanksgiving is a day of thanks giving to God, family, friends, and friends life and prosperity.

If anything, the first Thanksgiving was an attempt at peaceful coexistence with the Native Americans. In 1621 the first Thanksgiving with the Wampanoag tribe was a celebration of the first successful harvest after a long, harsh winter. Perhaps if things had followed that model we would not have the shame of the Trail of Tears, or the other countless stories of genocide as a stain on our history.

George Washington was the first president to proclaim Thanksgiving as a
national holiday in honor of the U.S. Constitution. He stated that the
holiday existed so that the people could thank God for, "affording them
an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their
safety and happiness" and for having "been enabled to establish
constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and
particularly the national One now lately instituted, for the civil and
religious liberty with which we are blessed..."

This means that
Thanksgiving is a day to appreciate the documents that give us our
rights, and the ability to transcend hate and prejudice that plagued
our past. Like most countries, we have a troubled history of genocide,
slavery, and racism. I am thankful though, that despite the men who created our founding documents not being perfect, their words have allowed this country to grow and prosper beyond its vile past.

I celebrate Thanksgiving as a day of thanks to my creator, my family, and my friends. I read about history because I want to learn from past mistakes. The two are not one in the same, and there is no guilt required when you go about enjoying your daily life and the holidays.

You did not destroy the Native American culture, and your support for human and civil rights in present day America is atonement for the sins of your forefathers. You are able to see the mistakes of the past, and you live a life that has learned from those mistakes. What more can you do now?

Join your family in good cheer and hope that the past will never be repeated. Be thankful for the prosperity of your country and that you are healthy. Study history and educate others on the mistakes of the past, but don't allow undue guilt to prevent you from celebrating actual living, breathing, life with family and friends.