Pass the Potatoes

Life is short. Sit down with people you may disagree with politically or culturally and pass the potatoes.

There's a popular meme that goes around before Thanksgiving—you know the one: "me after so many beers on Thanksgiving when somebody brings up this political topic." I'm just asking that when you sit down with your friends and family this Thanksgiving, that you try your best to not become that meme. Coexisting with people you disagree with is a learned skill, and the holidays provide us with an opportunity to relearn it.

I don't have to remind anyone that there are real problems in our world. If you live in the Logan Square, Avondale, or Belmont-Cragin neighborhoods of Chicago like I do, we just lived through a months long assault by masked federal agents abducting our neighbors. There are wars raging around the globe, putting innocent people at risk. Political leaders in our country have been assassinated. Two National Guard troops were shot yesterday in Washington DC. There are real problems in our world, our country, and our city—but they don't necessarily have to find their way to your holiday dinner table. If they do, that's a choice.

In the past decade or so, as national politics has found its way into all aspects of our lives, there's also been a growing trend of holding "Friendsgivings"—holiday meals with friends of your choosing. I'm not here to rag on Friendsgiving. In our increasingly lonely and isolated world, I encourage ANY gathering of real people in the real world, especially to sit down and eat a meal together. That desire to bring people together is at the core of keepgoing.org. But there is something to be said for sitting down at a table of people not of your choosing.

Family is where we learn how to interact, coexist, and communicate with each other. Some families are better with these skills than others, and some differences cannot be overcome. But the obligations and responsibilities found in a family teach us important skills that we can apply in our everyday lives. Most of us don't get to choose our families. We are born into them. They can be stressful and very often contentious, but I'm asking you to not run away from that contentiousness. If anything, run to it.

Spend time with your family this holiday season—not just your chosen family, but the one you are obligated to spend time with. Life is short. Sit down with people you may disagree with politically or culturally and pass the potatoes. Try to leave the wider world at the door, sit down with your family, and remember that you are bound by your shared memories and by powers that are stronger than the issues of the day.

Please have a wonderful Thanksgiving and keepgoing.