There is never a bad time to express gratitude and to tally up all the many things we have to be grateful for, and as we can all see in our many daily battles (political or otherwise) people who are incapable of gratitude seem to be very unhappy and not exactly fun to be around.
And in the spirit of gratitude, I want to thank you Leighton for all your excellent work and for giving me so much to think about.
Your mother was a US citizen by birth (8 USC 1405). I think that her father (your maternal grandfather) would be considered to be Issei (a first generation immigrant} even though he was in Hawaii on temporary assignment, not as an immigrant. That would make her Nisei, and you and your brother Sansei.
I don't know the motivation for our immigrant ancestor's having left England for the US, so I don't know whether "Puritan" is a correct term.
And this is one of the best and honestest (sounds more truthful than "most honest") posts on our American reality I've read.
(And not to pit any Substacker against any other--but I read Freddie DeBoer's post this week too, and everything that made me admire his writing and his thinking was entirely absent from that.
My maternal grandparents were illegal aliens from the Ukraine of the Russian Empire, and I think the only members of their large extended family to arrive in that way. As far as I know my paternal side, also from parts of the then Russian Empire, came here legally.
As a teenager I leaned towards Freddie's views. After traveling, and living at various times for varying lengths of time in a South Asian country, I grew to understand the unique value of our founding ideals, which we as human beings may often betray but at least have a standard to haul ourselves back to as best as we can.)
My father came to the US at 13, a refugee from Nazi Germany, against who he fought as a US Army (86th Division HQ Company) interrogator a decade later. My mother's family came from Scotland after the Civil War, and became devout Mormons.
I have the distincticion of being a double "goyim" or outsider, which, along with three extended (totalling 30 month) stays in Europe, Russia, and China) have given me a special appreciation to quote Langston Hughes, "America must be...America will be...America to me!"
Thank you for this moving account of the meaning to you of the Thanksgiving holiday. Your work here has always stood on its own, but learning your background story helps explain why it remains so salient amidst the growing roster of Substack writers. This piece stands out in particular for saying in the same breath something both personal and universal (i.e., genuinely inclusive), thereby avoiding the narcissistic cul-de sacs of contemporary discourse. But most importantly, your uniquely judicious approach to Thanksgiving could serve as a landmark of progress in our collective understanding of the US as a nation, and of citizenship in the context contemporary life.
I do think that immigrants have the most reason to be patriotic. On one level they can’t take for granted what they encounter here. They came here intentionally.
The beauty of diversity is converging into one after a period of time, being just an American. Embracing the good and some bad historical events in her emergence to be the beacon of freedom and provided access to individual’s dream according to their merits. To fight discrimination is to attain an education and be guided by one’s faith in God. Thanksgiving day for me is not just the anticipation of a big meal or Black Friday sale but consciously being grateful for being an American living in a free country. I also was transplanted from another country in my youth but grew and became a productive citizen.
I wish I had read this before today but yes thank you for validating my feelings of being an American. My father, Irish immigrant, would get so pissed off when someone asked him "what are you"? (A question inevitably that came up when he spoke). "I'm an American!" W a few other choice words sprinkled in. He never came out and expressed his gratitude toward this country, but his reaction to anyone thinking he was something other than was enough for me to know.
Is your father, a well-educated man?  I come from a family of uneducated people.  I am quite certain I would be the only member of my family interested in reading this sort of stuff.  My family have a low level distain for intellectuals.
There is never a bad time to express gratitude and to tally up all the many things we have to be grateful for, and as we can all see in our many daily battles (political or otherwise) people who are incapable of gratitude seem to be very unhappy and not exactly fun to be around.
And in the spirit of gratitude, I want to thank you Leighton for all your excellent work and for giving me so much to think about.
Cheers and Happy Thanksgiving!
That is a beautiful tribute of thanksgiving.
Your mother was a US citizen by birth (8 USC 1405). I think that her father (your maternal grandfather) would be considered to be Issei (a first generation immigrant} even though he was in Hawaii on temporary assignment, not as an immigrant. That would make her Nisei, and you and your brother Sansei.
I don't know the motivation for our immigrant ancestor's having left England for the US, so I don't know whether "Puritan" is a correct term.
beautiful photo LW
Happy Thanksgiving!
And this is one of the best and honestest (sounds more truthful than "most honest") posts on our American reality I've read.
(And not to pit any Substacker against any other--but I read Freddie DeBoer's post this week too, and everything that made me admire his writing and his thinking was entirely absent from that.
My maternal grandparents were illegal aliens from the Ukraine of the Russian Empire, and I think the only members of their large extended family to arrive in that way. As far as I know my paternal side, also from parts of the then Russian Empire, came here legally.
As a teenager I leaned towards Freddie's views. After traveling, and living at various times for varying lengths of time in a South Asian country, I grew to understand the unique value of our founding ideals, which we as human beings may often betray but at least have a standard to haul ourselves back to as best as we can.)
Well said.
My father came to the US at 13, a refugee from Nazi Germany, against who he fought as a US Army (86th Division HQ Company) interrogator a decade later. My mother's family came from Scotland after the Civil War, and became devout Mormons.
I have the distincticion of being a double "goyim" or outsider, which, along with three extended (totalling 30 month) stays in Europe, Russia, and China) have given me a special appreciation to quote Langston Hughes, "America must be...America will be...America to me!"
Happy Thanksgiving!
Leighton,
Thank you for this moving account of the meaning to you of the Thanksgiving holiday. Your work here has always stood on its own, but learning your background story helps explain why it remains so salient amidst the growing roster of Substack writers. This piece stands out in particular for saying in the same breath something both personal and universal (i.e., genuinely inclusive), thereby avoiding the narcissistic cul-de sacs of contemporary discourse. But most importantly, your uniquely judicious approach to Thanksgiving could serve as a landmark of progress in our collective understanding of the US as a nation, and of citizenship in the context contemporary life.
I do think that immigrants have the most reason to be patriotic. On one level they can’t take for granted what they encounter here. They came here intentionally.
100%. I always look forward to, and deeply appreciate, your perspective. Thank you!!’
The beauty of diversity is converging into one after a period of time, being just an American. Embracing the good and some bad historical events in her emergence to be the beacon of freedom and provided access to individual’s dream according to their merits. To fight discrimination is to attain an education and be guided by one’s faith in God. Thanksgiving day for me is not just the anticipation of a big meal or Black Friday sale but consciously being grateful for being an American living in a free country. I also was transplanted from another country in my youth but grew and became a productive citizen.
Thank you sir, you are an inspiration.
If you’re ever near Waterloo, Iowa I’d love to buy you a beer sometime. I appreciate your writing. Happy Thanksgiving.
Lovely, thoughtful sentiments. Thanks for commemorating this holiday in a way that every well-meaning American can appreciate.
I wish I had read this before today but yes thank you for validating my feelings of being an American. My father, Irish immigrant, would get so pissed off when someone asked him "what are you"? (A question inevitably that came up when he spoke). "I'm an American!" W a few other choice words sprinkled in. He never came out and expressed his gratitude toward this country, but his reaction to anyone thinking he was something other than was enough for me to know.
Is your father, a well-educated man?  I come from a family of uneducated people.  I am quite certain I would be the only member of my family interested in reading this sort of stuff.  My family have a low level distain for intellectuals.