My Dumb Observations

From a cultural perspective, America is a peculiar nation. Without the richness of millennia to draw from or many shared borders to influence us, America manages to hold her own. Similar to the old-timey days, we just do things differently here. On the world stage, however, many nations find America less entertaining, viewing us as a spoiled bully still in diapers. Perhaps true, but the United States attracts players from around the world, forming the greatest expansion team in history. And with all those cultures in the mix, America proudly displays her combined greatness. For better or worse, we also do a robust job projecting ourselves as a libido-driven, virus spreading, collection of binge drinkers. America has also reimagined some practices to the benefit of democracy worldwide. Ancient Pagans would wish to carry the candy basket of any American kid on Halloween, and no Inuit festival can warm the feet of a reveler at our Groundhog Day or polar plunge celebrations. And look what ...

Turkey day, a grand American holiday in need of a makeover. More respected than any civic holiday, more meaningful than most religious holidays, and more connected to the human spirit to make any American proud! So why, then has Thanksgiving become the red-headed step child of American holidays?    Powered by corporate greed, Thanksgiving has been nearly bitch-slapped off the calendar. Walk into any retailer and you’lll notice the seasonal aisle goes from Halloween to Christmas, complete with holiday music piped in weeks before Turkey Day. This year it took only ONE day after Halloween before witnessing the first X Mas TV commercial. Despite the overkill, how irritating must those commercials be to non-Christians. Thank you Wal Mart.   Come to think of it, there are many reasons Thanksgiving is in need of a makeover. For one, the great tradition of American football has diminished. Football has become an event where players who do NOT participate have become more signific...