Happy Thanksgiving!

It's easy to take for granted all the good things we have—in our family lives, in our professional lives, in our nation, in the world—and focus on the bad. I hope that today all of you have much to be thankful for, as I very much do myself, and enjoy celebrating it.

Comments

[Á àß äẞç ãþÇđ âÞ¢Đæ ǎB€Ðëf ảhf]

If you focus on the good and take the bad for granted, you'll get more bad. You can't get rid of what you don't see.

That's the bad side. On the other hand ....

[AmosArch]

that would make sense if the media and social media in general didn't focus preferentially and relentlessly on the bad.

[Á àß äẞç ãþÇđ âÞ¢Đæ ǎB€Ðëf ảhf]

If it bleeds it leads.

[Sarcastr0]

Plenty of feel good stories and adorable animals if you care to look for them versus complain.

I just saw a pic of baby hedgehogs which was pretty great.

[princess jasmine]

So many delightful animals, where do they all come from?

[Dr. Ed 2]

I am thankful for this blog because it permits me to briefly forget other things...

[Doug Heffernan]

I suppose things could always be worse. Being thankful wouldn't make any sense without knowing that misery and death are always proximate. Every moment that they are not immediate is indeed some kind of fortune. But they always are immediate for someone else.

[Dr. Ed 2]

I'm not sure how.... 🙁

[The Margrave of Azilia]

I'd try to digest all this wisdom but I'm trying to digest Thanksgiving dinner instead.

[bernard11]

+1

[dwb68]

I am thankful that I only have first world problems, as do most of the people who post here.

[Ed Grinberg]

Ever think about how / why we became "First World"? The process is not irreversible, you know.

[Nelson]

We are the first world because we are America. Literally.

The first world was America and its allies.

The second world was the Soviet Union and its allies.

The third world was unallied to wither of them (and usually less-developed, less powerful countries, but not always).

[Jerry B.]

I’m sure that Democrats have something to be thankful for, since they can bitch about anything that doesn’t go exactly their way.

[Yes Way, Ted]

“It's easy to take for granted all the good things we have—in our family lives, in our professional lives”

Well, I don’t have family, and due to the mRNA mandate, I also don’t have a professional life, but hey, at least I’m not homeless…yet.

[Nelson]

Sounds like you made some unwise life choices during the pandemic. Hopefully things are better for you now.

[Sarcastr0]

Life is the little pleasures.

[princess jasmine]

Hallelujah!

[princess jasmine]

While the holidays can be difficult, you are never alone.

Help is just a text or phone call away.

???? CALL or ???? TEXT 9-8-8 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline and speak with a qualified crisis counselor.

[Ed Grinberg]

I feel truly blessed with my family life.
My professional life is fine.
The world... Well, it's always been troubled; it's troubled today; it'll always be troubled. Not worth getting depressed over.
But our nation... Our beautiful nation... Prof. Volokh is right -- there're still plenty of good things we have in our nation. But their number is steadily diminishing, and what's worse, I don't see this trend reversing in the future. My fellow Americans keep voting for the people who're doing this to us!  

[Kazinski]

I'm thankful I had a nice Thanksgiving with my mother today.

We skipped the turkey and I fixed pork belly, my wife fixed king crab.

My mother is 94, and in very good health but she doesn't like to go out much. I was helping her do some online shopping Tuesday she was buying 10lbs of coffee for a fire station in thanksgiving, so when it came time to pay she rattled off her 16 digit credit card from memory. Then she trounced my wife playing Gin Rummy.

[Commenter_XY]

Professor Volokh (and Conspirators): Happy Thanksgiving! One of the things I am most grateful for is the sheer unpredictability of life. I will briefly explain.

Our children came home for Thanksgiving, sans Significant Others. We had reservations at a rather nice restaurant for Thanksgiving. Why not, my DW and I thought; we have our sons happy and healthy to ourselves, so splurge. Early Wednesday morning, one child tested positive for Covid. Ugh! Our carefully constructed Thanksgiving holiday was blown! Man plans; God laughs. Now what?

Wednesday was spent frantically shopping for a 'basic' Thanksgiving dinner. It took three stops, and 4 hours....but the basics were bought (Turkey, stuffing ingredients, white potatos, sweet potatos, pumpkin and pecan pies). That night, we all participated in small ways to get dinner put together: saute onions, celery, fry sausage, mix stuffing, prepare turkey (would you believe it was the only thing available, a 12.5lb butterball?! Oy Vey). A lot of laughs, several glasses of wine, and a few heartfelt (and lighthearted) moments as each of us reminisced about Thanksgivings in our past. It is nice when your kids are adults and you can just do something constructive with them, and talk. And talk. And laugh.

Thanksgiving day was spent putting together a quiet, basic dinner with our sons. A lot of laughs. A few tears now and again. A number of moments. Long story short: great dinner, and I am profoundly thankful I spent my Thanksgiving with the people who matter to me the most. And to boot, spoke to my father (age is late 80's).

I never would have planned for a Thanksgiving like that Professor Volokh; the sheer unpredictability of life is something I am truly grateful for. Sounds crazy, right? 🙂

(PS: also grateful for this blog, because I learn here)

[Nelson]

That sounds awesome. I'm so glad you had that time with your family. I believe that some things are bad, some are good, and some just are. The only way you get to awful or amazing is by working at it. It sounds like you decided not to work towards awful and made amazing happen instead. Your story made my day better. Thank you.

[Sarcastr0]

Ok, Christmas carols are legit starting today.

[Mr. Bumble]

Sirius XM and some stores have been running them for a month now.

[Sarcastr0]

I will admit I dipped into country Christmas on Wed, legit or no.

[Nelson]

I can look at the world and see plenty of things that concern or anger me. I refuse to let them break me, or make me lose my belief in a better future.

I've learned a great deal from this site. Especially since I'm not a lawyer, but know enough about the law to really frustrate people who actually know what they're talking about. I'm thankful for their patience.

I've experienced some wonderful things in my life, but made the frightening decision to retire early and work for an all-volunteer Labrador Retriever rescue.

The people on the front end of the process make me angry, sad, or confused (depending on if the dog is coming in due to cruelty, hardship, or because "they are getting old and leak urine"/some other incomprehensible reason). It would be easy for them to make me cynical and pessimistic.

The people on the back end save me from that, and give me so much more. Every day I am exposed to people who look at a dog that is fearful because they were abused and say, "We can give them a kind home". I see people who see an old dog who leaks urine and say, "We have diapers and a yard. They will spend their remaining days with love and, if they leak, we have Nature's Miracle and paper towels". I see people who look at an Amish breeder momma who has been bred twice a year for 8 years, never lived in a house, never known kindness, and are afraid of everything (including empty thresholds. I'm not kidding) and say, "We will show her patience, our dogs will show her it's safe to be inside, and we will teach her that life can be good.".

More than anything, that is what I am thankful for. The vast and awe-inspiring ability of humans to see suffering, pain, fear, and need in others (human or not) and actively try to help, not for any personal advantage, but just because they can.

Of all the wonderful and mysterious things in life that I am thankful for, human empathy, kindness, generosity, and selflessness is the most amazing.

Thank you to everyone who has done good for another in the past year, merely because you could. You are the ones who keep the darkness at bay.