Thanksgiving 2020
On Thanksgiving we have many, many people to thank. We offer, first, thanks to our Creator for the gift of life. We give thanks to our priests, clergy and religious who teach us how to live. We give thanks to the patriots, founding fathers, and framers of our Constitution who have given us freedom. We give thanks to our attorneys and judges who give us justice. We give thanks to our teachers and educators who give us knowledge. We give thanks to our President, Donald Trump, who has given us our country back. We give thanks to our police and firemen who give us our safety. We give thanks to our soldiers and military who give us peace. We give thanks to our farmers and laborers who have given us abundance. We give thanks to our great country, America, that has given us prosperity. We give thanks to our doctors, nurses and medical workers who give us health. We give thanks to our researchers and scientists that give us insight. We give thanks to the artists and musicians that give us beauty. We give thanks to the poets, writers and philosophers that give us meaning.
But there is another group of people that we must never forget: our parents, who have given us everything.
The following verse is a Chinese poem:
Below is a translation. The “liao wo” is a species of grass that symbolizes parenthood.
“When I behold the sacred liao wo,
my thoughts return
to those who have begot me, raised me,
and now are tired.
I would repay the bounty they have given me,
but it is as the sky: it can never be approached.”
Happy Thanksgiving!