I’ve been watching Ken Burns’ new documentary on the founding of America, and it reminded me how tightly we cling to the idea of being “truly” American, as if any of our stories began here. Step back even a little and you see a much wider picture.
Most of us came from somewhere else. Our families traced paths across continents, oceans, and generations before anyone called themselves American. And before those migrations, humanity had already been moving, adapting, and beginning again since the earliest days of our species.
However you understand our origins, one thing becomes clear when you zoom out. We share a common story. We are connected to every people who came before us, and to every person beside us now.
So as Thanksgiving approaches, with all its mixed meanings and tangled history, maybe this is a good moment to widen our view. To remember that our belonging doesn’t start in 1621 or 1776, but in something much larger: our shared humanity.
Before we are American, we are human.
And that, in itself, is something worth giving thanks for.
– Jan
Leave a comment