thank god i'm an atheist*

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving in the United States. While it’s technically not a religious holiday, it can be a difficult one for atheists for grammatical reasons. “Thank” is a transitive verb, meaning that it requires a direct object. One cannot simply thank. One must thank someone or something. For the vast majority of Americans, that someone or something is god. So, as atheists, who are we thanking? Well, we could thank each other for showing up for dinner. We could thank the poultry farmers for providing the main course. We could thank the football players for working on a holiday. However, none of these seem to be very good reasons to take a couple of days off and have a feast.
Despite the cognitive dissonance caused by its name, I support the spirit of Thanksgiving. I think that taking time once a year to reflect on the positive aspects of one’s life is a good idea. In a world that often seems like it has gone mad, it’s easy for the good things to slip through the mental cracks. After watching the devastation of a monster hurricane or seeing the rising death toll of an unpopular war, we forget to appreciate the roofs over our heads and the people who love us. The news is full of poverty and forced labor, but most of us have the money to buy computers and the free time to visit blogs. There are only 850 million telephone lines in this world of 6.5 billion people, but most of us have broadband, cell phones and on-demand movies. Billions of people are enslaved by religion, but we are free.
I can thank the people responsible for some of that. My family will be there, so I can thank them. If you happen to run into a veteran tomorrow, you might want to thank him, also. If you happen to know Tim Berners-Lee, maybe send him an email. However, most of the people responsible for this incredible quality of life I enjoy are anonymous, dead or both. So, while we are celebrating Thanksgiving, lets also celebrate the simpler holiday of Gladhaving, because that encourages you to appreciate all the good in your life, including the parts for which there is no one to thank but yourself. If you do this, I guarantee you’ll awaken from your Turkey-induced coma on Friday morning with a much rosier picture of the world. It may only last until you turn on the news or try to find a parking space at the mall, but it’s better than nothing.

--the mostly reverend--
P.S. In the spirit of the holiday, I’d like to thank all of you for reading, commenters and lurkers alike. I’d also like to thank the few good electronic friends I’ve made because of this blog. You know who you are. If you’re not sure whether I’m including you, assume that I am. That way, everyone’s happy.

*[taken from the evangelical atheist, to whom i also give thanks]