As 2020 comes to a close, one of my favorite holidays is upon us: Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is a time for reflection and for gratitude. It is a time when we gather with friends and family to give thanks for all that we have. Often, the thanks that we give is that we have each other. That is especially important this year, a year when we all have faced unprecedented challenges to the way we live, work, and interact with one another. Some of us have even lost loved ones this year.
This year the holiday takes on a particularly acute sense of meaning. Americans have been looking forward to celebrating Thanksgiving as we normally would: gathering around the dinner table, eating great food, perhaps watching some football games, and just enjoying each other’s company. As we all know, this year, Thanksgiving, like so much else, will have to be a bit different.
Fortunately, with modern technology, we can still share in each other’s company. This is certainly not the most ideal way, but the virtual options on offer today would have been nearly unthinkable 20 years ago. The ingenuity and innovations of countries like the United States and Sweden have helped make this connectivity possible. I know I for one will be very glad to see my parents, sister, and nieces — even if it is only on a computer screen.
If the pandemic has taught us one thing, it is that it is more important than ever that we come together to solve this crisis and the other major challenges that we face. The strength of our collective efforts should give us hope that no problem is insurmountable if we work together across nations to solve it. So, this Thanksgiving, I am thankful for this common spirit of cooperation and that the United States has such incredible partners as Sweden.
I wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving.