On Thanksgiving Day, people pushed back from the dinner table with full stomachs, having feasted upon the traditional turkey, trimmings, and grandma’s apple pie. They thanked the cooks and relaxed. It was a good day of family and friendship.
And on Thanksgiving Day, thousands of families ate from a box from a food pantry; likely canned or packaged non-perishables. Maybe they ate a meal served by a charitable group and had the chance to share in a more-traditional fare. At least for that day.
Or maybe not. Maybe they went hungry again that day. Maybe the children didn’t get a meal because there was no school, the only place that they can be assured of a daily meal. Maybe they missed that free meal that was served at the local house of worship because there was no way to get there from their bed in the woods by the highway. Maybe they just didn’t have the strength to try and get to what they knew was a temporary respite from a life of need.
The harsh reality this holiday season is that, while we are seeing many people thrive as economic conditions improve, there are also many who struggle to survive; not just in the holiday season, but every day and every season.
Poverty, dependence, and need each know no distinctions of geography, age, race, gender or faith. They exist in all our neighborhoods, our schools, our workplaces, and our houses of worship. They blatantly display themselves in the crumbling wreckage of cities and towns and in the faces of the homeless we see on the streets. They hide behind our neighbors, coworkers, and friends who put on a facade that everything is OK when, in fact, eviction or hunger loom.
We must face this reality head-on and do our part to change lives. We can’t talk our way out of it, we can’t ignore it and hope it goes away, and we can’t use a paint roller to solve problems that require the delicacy of an artist’s brush. We can — and will — beat poverty, dependence, and need when we each do our part; with our time, or our talent, or our treasure.
But we can’t just do our part during the holidays while we’re thinking about others. We must do it every day. The holidays are a great time to rededicate ourselves to the fight. But when the decorations go back into the attic, don’t let the fight for those less fortunate get packed away with them.
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