Harris-Perry: Thanksgiving is not that simple

>>> this weekend we tried to tackle some tough issues and with so many things feeling complicated and unsettled, i bet you are looking forward to the simple pleasures of thanksgiving a uniquely american holiday where you can relax with the macy's day parade, football games and eat more food than you can imagine. except that thanksgiving is not that simple. the kindergarten story that you learned about grateful pilgrims and happy indians is not even close to the historic reality of how european settlers brought violence, disease and land left to the indigenous peoples already in this land long before it was discovered. the department store macy's, which staged the annual parade since 1924 is embroiled in controversy, as nearly a half million people urge them to discontinue their relationship with donald trump , who's vicious, racialized attacks on president obama 's citizenship have continued unabated. and it's hard to settle in to unbridled enthusiasm for a post pin skin fest when thousands of players filed suit against the nfl this year based on claims the league hid information related to head injury and permanent brain damage. as for having more than enough food on your holiday table, well, as we talked about yesterday, that's not the situation facing millions of poor families in this country who regularly go hungry, even on thanksgiving day . so, what do we do with complexity when it feels like acknowledging it destroys our ability just to enjoy ourselves? here's what i suggest, embrace it. because gratitude, which is at the heart of thanksgiving is completely consistent with acknowledging the agony and loss and enjustice that under girds our history. gratitude is consistent with holding ourselves accountable with how our spending supports particular iedologists. gratitude is consistent with knowing the real, personal cost born by those who just entertain us. and gratitude is consistent with acknowledging the that abundance so many of us take for granted is foreign to our neighbors who live in want. let us give thanks. let us feel overwhelmed with grateful awe, but let's us do so with wides wide open and hands ready to do all the work there is left to