A Thanksgiving Rap and Toast

Deep bow of thanks to my friend Tom Ludwig for this one, and to Steve Senesi for this well articulated and deeply needed reflection of a much larger picture and vision surrounding Thanksgiving. I also experience this as a prayer for our "awakening, not of our inhumanity, but of our humanity." And I envision a time when there will be enough of us who are waking up ― passionately pealing back the layers of our illusions and embracing truth and the vital and courageous need to open our eyes and hearts and care about one another ― that we will come to a point of discarding the false belief systems and false heroes which have served to perpetuate ignorance, fear, greed, suffering, separation, violence, and oppression. In their place will emerge new holidays and cultural values and stories which truly celebrate and honor and cherish life, all life. Then perhaps the American dream will transform from its adolescence to a mature, full, and complete Global Dream that is woven together with the deepest wisdom, authentic needs, visions and values, compassion and consciousness shared by all our earthly sisters and brothers who are also awakening. Another world is possible. And it truly does begin within the hearts, minds, and souls of each and every one of us. Bless us all. ― Molly

 

Thanksgiving Rap and Toast

As we celebrate Thanksgiving
A day of reminiscing
The benefits we have been given and are giving

De we thank the first peoples for their largesse as the myth goes
For sharing their bounty
With the hungry, hymns singing pilgrims
Ignoring the love your neighbors injunctions of their sanhedrins

To our shame
Tis a history we cannot disclaim
We the life loving USA killed, dispersed the first peoples
Like in a video game
Draped them in small pox blankets
An odd way to repay our debts
A sordid history 
Full of injury and misery

Why should we recount this bad chemistry
On a day of rejoicing, a day of thank fullness?
Certainly not to depress nor stress us out
but to bring about
An awakening not of our inhumanity
But our humanity

Against dictators its easy to engage our rage
When we look across the line of scrimmage
Oh we’er not like them.
Truth is we are more akin to Pol pot, Idi Amin, Stalin, Saddham Hussein, Chiang Kai Chek, perhaps the dreaded H name
More than we want to proclaim

What we stole by violence
We needed to survive
Resources to keep us alive
Must we deprive others
Treat them like pond scum
Power drive over them
Boot their hard drive onto reservations
Undignified living, extreme poverty
To hell with equality
Not the nice generosity we like to exclaim

The human being is a contradiction
But it doesn’t have to be a science fiction 
We can build a better foundation
On a new reflection, 
A stronger Conviction
Humanity is also compassionate 
On Thanksgiving cannot this be our fate
Driving us to home plate not to check mate
We could be first rate
So you want to be known as life loving Americans

Follow the first peoples sharing their goods
Invite refugees into your neighborhoods
put and end to bloated military budgets,
death dealing drones, nuclear weapons, open carry
Guaranteed to begin a new itinerary,
develop a new fiduciary
Leave a new hereditary

And then this:
Gratitude is the spine of humans
The divine in us, a thousand lumens
Vis a Vis the universe gratitude is the proper stance
A chance to advance us beyond our past sad doings and ruins
To gratefulness, to thanksgiving, its our song and dance

― Steve Senesi