Hope You’re OK

By Pramod Kulkarni, Editor

The most endearing aspect of the American culture is Thanksgiving. The holiday doesn’t have a religious significance, but was created after the American Civil War by President Abraham Lincoln. It does have a historical antecedent to the Thanksgiving feast enjoyed by the American Pilgrims and their Native American benefactors. Never mind that the first Thanksgiving was followed by wholesale decimation of the Native Americans and the Civil War resulted in the slaughter of thousands of Americans — brother against brother.

In 2020, it is hard to fathom for what we could give thanks. We’re in the midst of a rabid Coronavirus pandemic that has reached to remote corners of the world. According to the Johns Hopkins Corona Resource Center, as of Wednesday, there were 59,961,235 cases globally with 1,412,949 deaths. Here in the United States, the Corona caseload stands at 12,613,248 with 260,160 deaths. If you or your family has been a victim of the virus, our prayers are with you. At least, we could be thankful that three different vaccines have shown to be successful candidates with possive distribution in late December and January. The pandemic has also caused the unemployment of millions of Americans.

Here in the United States, we’ve just endured a political civil war in the 2020 presidential election. Democrats can be thankful for the apparent victory of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. The Republicans can be thankful that there was no blue wave, and it seems likely that they will retain control of the US Senate (pending the outcome of two Senate races in Georgia). On a personal note, I am thankful for courageous stand of a lowly Republican canvasser in Michigan. I am writing about Van Langevelde, a member of Michigan’s board of state canvassers. Langevelde cast the deciding vote to certify the Michigan vote, despite personal lobbying by President Trump and harrassment from Trump supporters throughout the country.

Lastly, I would like to call your attention to the article by the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, in the New York Times about the loss of her second son through a miscarriage. Markle says she was very appreciative of a concerned question from an Australian journalist, “Are you OK?”

In the same vein, I would ask the same question of concern of you, “Are you OK?” I hope you have some things to be thankful for in the midst of all the tragedies that are buffeting us.