Happy Thanksgiving

For better or for worse, Thanksgiving is a time for family. For most folks, the holidays can be bittersweet. Is it any wonder, its during these festive months, the suicide rates spike?
Because the family is either a great source of comfort or a great source of pain. Just watch one episode of Celebrity Rehab and you can see how impactful family life is. The amount of mother/father issues on the show point to a reality: Parents have a large role in forming their children. Unfortunately, there has been a whole generation that have neglected this most important aspect of life. If parents abdicate their role as parents, we end up creating a lost generation. And for the most part, many of our current dysfunctions can be sourced to this basic unit of society, the family.
Until we start the healing in the family, our society will face an uphill battle in remedying our current malaise. Here may be one piece of advice to take away as we head into Thanksgiving. Whatever your family situation is, I recommend one possible solution: unconditional love. That is try with heroic effort to love your parents and siblings as they are. Often times, the people we love the most, have inflicted the most harm on our own psyche. But the first step towards healing is forgiveness and instead of trying to change the other or worse yet get back at the other person, we would probably best be served just loving. And that could mean loving the unlovable.

Happy Thanksgiving.

FYI
Miami judge rules against Florida gay adoption ban - AP
I believe the process towards healing the family begins with heterosexual families taking back control of family life.

Newest Harvard M.B.A.’s Flocked to Wall Street - NY Times
This is surely to change given the decimation on Wall Street. The days of easy money may be a thing of the past, for a time being.

Atlantic Records Says Digital Sales Surpass CDs - NY Times
Its a digital world baby.

Sixth Circuit: Vatican Can Be Sued for Sexual Abuse - WSJ
The US legal system has become inscrutable. Not to discount the horrors of the abuse, but I don't see legally how the Vatican could or should be liable. If we follow that logic, one can argue that given the similar abuse in the US public education system (under-reported in the mainstream media), the US government could be held liable.

Did Britain Just Sell Tibet? - NY Times
Can make one cynical enough to believe that everyone does have a price.

Small Towns - First Things
"I was born in a small town." Mellencamp
Something to be said about the connectedness in living in small town. Great apologetic piece on small towns.