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How do atheists handle Thanksgiving?

JustMeSee

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I don't do Thanksgiving, obviously, but why would one need to be thankful towards anyone in particular? Why not just be thankful in general?
I think some people have trouble understanding what it is like to not thank God for everything.

Being thankful to people and appreciating situations is a common occurrence for many people.
 
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Eudaimonist

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I don't do Thanksgiving, obviously, but why would one need to be thankful towards anyone in particular? Why not just be thankful in general?

One can, of course. One can simply feel an appreciation for everything that one has.

But if you appreciate something, it's respectful to identify the source, so that you may at least say a silent "thank you".

Must one do this? No. But it is a pleasant thing to do.


eudaimonia,

Mark
 
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SithDoughnut

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I agree, but when you count the number of sources to thank it becomes largely impractical. Thanking the sources available and then a general thankful attitude does the rest. Anyway, my post was in response to the idea in the OP that one cannot be thankful unless they have someone there to thank.
 
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SithDoughnut

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Can there be a state where there is nothing for which one can be thankful?

Death. However, that's largely because one cannot be thankful full stop. I suppose if you view the world from the point of view of an incredibly pessimistic and self-centred individual, there might be nothing to thank.
 
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Wiccan_Child

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Death. However, that's largely because one cannot be thankful full stop. I suppose if you view the world from the point of view of an incredibly pessimistic and self-centred individual, there might be nothing to thank.
I thought about death, but I was thinking more about a state where one could give thanks, but there's nothing to be thankful for. Where even one's own life isn't a good thing, perhaps.
 
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TigerKanga

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Can there be a state where there is nothing for which one can be thankful?

I don't know. As long as a person is alive they can theoretically be thankful even if they are in severe duress as there is still the possibility things can get better and they do have pleasant memories of better times.
 
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Wiccan_Child

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I don't know. As long as a person is alive they can theoretically be thankful even if they are in severe duress as there is still the possibility things can get better and they do have pleasant memories of better times.
So they can be thankful that things were better, and they might yet be better? If I were them, I wouldn't be thankful for that, I'd be mighty put out by the severe duress I'm in now - were I a theist, I don't think I'd remain one for long
 
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TigerKanga

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So they can be thankful that things were better, and they might yet be better? If I were them, I wouldn't be thankful for that, I'd be mighty put out by the severe duress I'm in now - were I a theist, I don't think I'd remain one for long

As long as you're alive things can get better. If you give up you will never know. Look at John Mccain. I despise the man's politics but his personal story is amazing. He spent years as a POW getting tortured. He came out of it and became a powerful Senator. If he had given up and died he would have missed out on his power job and his trophy wife.
 
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SithDoughnut

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I thought about death, but I was thinking more about a state where one could give thanks, but there's nothing to be thankful for. Where even one's own life isn't a good thing, perhaps.

Then I'll stick with my depressed, pessimistic, self-centred person then. It's certainly possible, as it's a subjective question.
 
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Eudaimonist

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I try not to be artificially thankful.

It's not artificial, at least for me.

When I turn my attention to "counting my blessings", and then identifying the source of those blessings, my thankfulness is entirely genuine. Just because I am reminded to do this by the holiday makes none of it forced and insincere.

If I feel the need to thank someone, I do it... I don´t need a special day set apart to do that.

It's not a question of need. I don't need Thanksgiving either. I "count my blessings" regularly. I used to do this every week, although I've fallen out of that habit.

Regarding Thanksgiving, that's a cultural tradition, and that's one reason I do this, but it's also a good practice. It's a way of reminding myself to focus on the positives of life. It's a spiritual exercise.


eudaimonia,

Mark
 
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quatona

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Then the bar is lowered and they're thankful for things like their lives and the food on the table.
Personally, I find it easier to be appreciative even in not so good moments when I am not assuming that someone has created this situation for me.
As for a hypothetical creator god, I´d tend to think that it´s its bloody duty to take care of its creatures.
 
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