Happy Thanksgiving 2

Digby has a wonderful, moving Thanksgiving post today from reader James Armstrong.

The original American Thanksgivings were religious ceremonies most likely derived from old-world harvest festivals, as the Pilgrims gave thanks to their god for the abundance of food in the new world.

The harvest festival is a good festival, it celebrates man's ability to provide for itself. So, a modern atheist/socialist can still celebrate a modern Thanksgiving. In that, I give thanks to:

I give thanks to the many workers, both documented and undocumented, who harvest the fields that provide us our food from farms, that keep us from starvation.

I give thanks to those farmers who dedicate themselves to sustainable farming techniques, so this bounty will not just be mine, but will be there for generations in the future.

I give thanks to people like Norman Borlaug, who won the 1970 Peace Prize for advances in wheat harvests, and scientists like him, who have helped make it easier to feed the world.

I give thanks to those who transport the food--the loaders, truckers, train engineers and signalmen, and others--responsible for getting fresh meat and produce to outlets throughout the world.

I also give thanks to those who are dedicated to the locavore movement, where freshness is not dependent on anything but time and speed to market, and where you know the plans (sic) are freshly picked.

I give thanks to those merchants who accept the deliveries and who provide us the opportunity to buy from the cornupoia of the American harvest.

I thank those few thankless food inspectors--too few and overworked--who are straining to keep the food supply as safe as they can.

And, finally, I give thanks to those who prepare and serve the meals we eat. If it is my own cooking, I thank those who came before and taught me how to cook, and who derived the recipes I use. When others cook, I thank them for the work they do for me.

It is for these workers, scholars, and ordinary people to whom I am thankful on this day of Thanksgiving, 25 November, 2010.