The social hygienists make the mistake of over-emphasizing the crime as it were instead of the following:
You can teach about the origins of the New England tradition of Thanksgiving, how it reflected that culture at the time, but then watch how it became a national holiday over time based on what it represents. I think it was Lincoln that made it a national holiday or thereabouts and by that time, there was something different being considered than origin story. Thankfulness is a universal human sentiment.
It’s basically a fall harvest celebration, which have occurred all through history especially in temperate climates. Most native Americans had such a celebration, certainly in California, when the harvesting of acorns was going. It can be whatever we make it. You can have it both ways. Teach the story, making it clear it was about THEM, not everybody today, then celebrate how it has evolved into a family holiday. To me, it’s less tainted than Christmas, that’s for sure.
This has been the most sentimental Thanksgiving holiday of my life this year, exactly because so many of us (including me) made the choice to cancel seeing my family that I normally would each year and also, the huge sense of relief of election result. Two other THanksgivings had a real sting of sorts in terms of national sentiments: Cuban Missile crisis, JFK assassination. I was little but the lead up to holidays were pretty intense.