Through the rose-colored glasses of time, we "remember" the Pilgrims as staunch advocates for religious freedom. Indeed, we apply that label to just about any group facing, fleeing, or fighting religious persecution. Sadly, history doesn't bear this out.
The pilgrims left their native England because their beliefs and practices were repressed in various ways by the local establishment of religion, the Church of England.
They went to Holland where, I understand, they were perfectly free to practice their religion. However, they were uncomfortable surrounded by people not of their heritage and were concerned that their children were exposed to viewpoints different from their own. Sound familiar? In Yogi Berra's inimitable style, it's "deja vu all over again."
So, they came to the new world and set up a colony where theirs was the established religion, and set about repressing beliefs other than their own. Like most religiously motivated colonists and, indeed, like many devout religious communities to this day, they cared not a whit about "freedom of religion"--they just wanted to be the ones doing the oppressing.
Besides feuding with their fellow ex-Europeans over religious issues, almost all the colonies disparaged, denigrated, and, ultimately, destroyed the traditional culture, religious and otherwise, of the native peoples.
What we all "remember," though, is a brief interlude of mutual respect and cooperation when the colonists recognized the valuable help the "Indians" had given them in surviving at all (it's an amazing story in itself to recount the list of items the pilgrims thought important enough to take to the New World, and compare it to the list of obvious survival essentials that they omitted). They held a great feast to celebrate their good harvest with their Indian friends.
The Pilgrims and the Indians, each according to their beliefs, gave thanks to deities, Nature, Fortune, and various other forces they believed were responsible for their bounty. There is no report that anyone acknowledged the role of human reason, knowledge, skill, kindness, cooperation, or just plain perseverance.
When my family and I are guests for the Thanksgiving holiday at the home of a friend or relative, it sometimes happens that a host who knows my views turns to me, grins, and announces to the assembled company, "I'll ask Ted to say grace," or something in that vein.
Before I can respond, he throws up his hands, feigning remorse, grins more widely, and says "Just kidding, Ted!"
Were I a Hindu, a Muslim, a Jew, or even a member of a different Christian congregation, I imagine his remorse would be genuine--what could be more rude than to ridicule a guest's beliefs before all the other guests?
I'd like to think it's because he understands that, since I'm not hag-ridden by dogma, I can handle gibes like that with a sense of humor. More likely, though, he simply takes it for granted that an atheist's feelings aren't worth considering. A fair test might be to retort with a remark highlighting some of the more bizarre beliefs he holds, but I value a pleasant evening in good company, so, once again, I hold my peace.
If only he'd let me accept his challenge, he might be surprised to learn that I do, in fact, recognize the importance of thankfulness for all the good things we have. I might say something like:
"Despite the challenges and hardships we bravely face every day (having no other choice, to be sure), we have much to be happy about. Certainly we can each be proud of the role our own efforts have played in realizing a good life, but we should never lose sight of all the help we rely on every day.
"Millions, throughout history, have risked (and often lost) their very lives so that we might live in freedom and safety.
"Many put their livelihoods and reputations on the line to establish a society that values fairness and prescribes universal education, an effective system of laws, and decent conditions in which to live and work.
"Others have applied exceptional talents to advancing the state of our health, the quality of our natural and artificial environments, and our knowledge of the universe.
"A long line of exceptional human beings have given all of us gifts beyond price or measure; let us remember them today.
"Let us also remember the numberless ordinary human beings who get up every day and, with resolve despite doubt, courage despite fear, persistence despite failure, and love and forgiveness despite the hard lessons of experience, shoulder the unglamorous daily burdens of family, community, and civilization itself to do all the work that needs doing and that yields the fruits we all enjoy.
"Since, without them, our standard of living would be unimaginable, let us give thanks and love to all our fellow members of this extraordinary species."
Ted Ruegsegger