Democracy With a Side of Gravy

Democracy, with a Side of Gravy
by Kirsten Lindsay

With the midterm elections firmly behind us, we can turn our focus toward something we all agree on: Thanksgiving.  A perfectly roasted turkey. What’s that you say, you fry yours?  I guess that’s okay.  Ham?  Wait what?  Ham is for Christmas or Mother’s Day, not Thanksgiving.

Anyway, stuffing – yum!  My mom used to bake it in the bird but evidently now that has potential health risks so I’m sure no one does that anymore. I guess that’s why some call it “dressing” instead of stuffing.  Allegedly some add raisins or oysters to stuffing but I find that hard to believe because yuck.

And cranberry sauce, straight out of the canned fruit aisle!  Made even better if it’s sliced directly on the lines from the can. I’ve heard there are people who make it fresh with chunks of things like nuts in there but pretty sure a sane person would agree the smooth canned stuff is preferable.

Round it out with some holiday favorites playing in the background. There are some who don’t believe in Holiday music until after Thanksgiving and some who watch football all day but I believe we can all agree the right way is asking Alexa to serve up Christmas classics.

Thanksgiving menus involve strong opinions, deeply held traditions, and individuals who are absolutely certain they know what’s best for everyone else. And by the time the dishes are cleared, we may find ourselves wondering why we agreed to participate in the first place.

We tend to think of the first Thanksgiving as a charming gathering of Pilgrims and Native Americans, united by gratitude and a mutual appreciation for corn.  What we don’t often contemplate is that the Wampanoag and English settlers had different customs and priorities, and reasons to distrust each other.  Not everyone in the Wampanoag community agreed with the decision to align with the English and there were political divisions about whether the newcomers were to be trusted.  The first Thanksgiving reminds us disagreement isn’t some modern-day affliction developed by exposure to cable news and social media. And that cooperation doesn’t require agreement.

As we slog or bounce our way out of election season let’s consider that perhaps the timing of Election Day in relation to Thanksgiving is a fortuitous necessary step in moving forward. We all want the same thing: a feast replete with a meat as the star, savory sides, and a buffet of homemade desserts.  Our favorite people around a beautiful table.  Similarly, most Oklahomans agree on what makes a strong community: opportunity, prosperity, freedom, a better future for our children. Better schools. Better economy. Better streets. We just have wildly different ideas about the recipe.

Red states and blue states.  Republicans and Democrats.  Turkey people and ham people.

Winston Churchill famously said “Democracy is the worst form of government, except for those other forms that have been tried from time to time”.   Perhaps he understood that democracy, like Thanksgiving dinner, is a messy, imperfect business. Not everyone gets what they want and some will leave disappointed but we all have a voice in what gets served, and that’s worth celebrating.

This Thanksgiving, we can be grateful not that everyone at the table agrees with us, but that everyone still has a place at the table. And if you’re seated next to someone who thinks differently than you, be grateful for the opportunity for civil discourse and the possibility of gaining insight into another way of thinking.

After all, sometimes the best dish on the table is the dish someone else brought.