Let Us Learn From That First Thanksgiving

Let us learn from that first Thanksgiving

            The concept of acceptance.

For it was the Indians who graciously accepted

            The foreigners without proper visas.

For they realized that acceptance was moral

            Whether it was legal or not.

 

Let us learn from that first Thanksgiving

            The concept of tolerance.

For it was a holiday of mixed religions

            Both Christian and Indian.

For a celebration among different people

            Is a celebration of humanity, not theology.

 

Let us learn from that first Thanksgiving

            The concept of learning from other cultures.

For without learning how to harvest,

            The English non-farmers would have perished.

So also, if we do not learn to learn from other cultures

            We too will perish.

 

Let us learn from that first Thanksgiving

            The concept of a proper paradigm.

For this first harvest was a product of teamwork

            Where both sides learned, lived, and enjoyed.

So too we need to live through collaboration and cooperation

            Rather than fight through competition and control.

 

David Kimball

Aka curiousdwk