Thanks shouldn't have 24-hour shelf life

Happy Thanksgiving!

Even as we share that greeting, though, this uniquely American holiday has always left me a bit conflicted.

Certainly it’s a wonderful celebration, bringing families and friends together, and not just to eat and laugh — but also to give thanks sincerely for all the blessings we’ve been given.

It’s impossible to say the idea of getting together to give thanks is anything but a wonderful idea.

At the same time, special meals and events are set up for the less fortunate among us, and Kootenai County is dotted with places where this particular kindness is practiced year after year.

Yes, Thanksgiving has a warm and fuzzy feel, as everyone seems willing to understand that we’re so incredibly lucky to enjoy the food and shelter we have.

So why does this lovely holiday sometimes make me feel a little guilty?

I suppose it’s because I’m thinking we should hold on to this kind and sharing mindset for more than a single day.

THIS ISN’T a billboard for any particular religion, but I can’t shake some of the messages delivered by Pope Francis, who has told audiences again and again that we are not doing enough for the world’s poor.

Francis continually praises efforts to help, but he always adds a bit of a scolding.

“There is a scandalous growth of poverty in broad sectors of society throughout our world,” the Pope said this week.

Back during the summer, Francis told Catholics and members of other faiths to go beyond the “occasional volunteer work” or “impromptu acts of generosity that appease our conscience.”

Doesn’t that sound a bit like our single Thanksgiving Day?

It does to me, and again there’s the sensation that the way we act and feel today shouldn’t be confined to one 24-hour holiday.

“Even as ostentatious wealth accumulates in the hands of the privileged few,” Francis said, “there is a scandalous growth of poverty in broad sectors of society throughout our world. Faced with this scenario, we cannot remain passive, much less resigned.”

NORTH IDAHO, of course, is an overwhelmingly Christian region, and Pope Francis has spoken directly to all Christians – not just Catholics.

During one speech, he said: “Working for a just distribution of the fruits of the earth and human labor is not mere philanthropy.

“It is a moral obligation. For Christians, the responsibility is even greater: It is a commandment.”

In the United States, I would guess that even the bottom of the lower middle class lives far better than — what? — maybe 80 percent of the world’s 7.6 billion people.

In fact, that 80 percent figure might be way low.

I’ve seen some of the staggering poverty that the Pope was referencing. We’re talking about BILLIONS of the starving and hopeless — human beings who did nothing wrong except having been born in Central America or the wrong part of the Middle East instead of Malibu...

Or even North Idaho.

And so each Thanksgiving, I do enjoy the joys for which the holiday was created, and I remain intensely grateful for all I’ve been given.

But at the same time, as the Pope points out, the lucky ones like us cannot be satisfied with “impromptu acts of generosity.”

Saying thanks and helping others should be a full-time gig.

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Steve Cameron is a columnist for The Press. Reach Steve at: [email protected]