Letters to the Editor: How not to talk politics — without totally avoiding it — at Thanksgiving
President Biden, right, ceremoniously pardons a turkey for Thanksgiving at the White House on Monday.
(Andrew Harnik / Getty Images)
To the editor: Worried about discussing politics over the holidays? Don’t fret, dear friends. Table it instead.
Give every guest at your Thanksgiving and other holiday gatherings a questionnaire and an envelope to be opened four years from now. Here are some possible questions:
- Will there be a Palestinian state and peace in Israel in 2028?
- Will Ukraine retain its entire independence in 2028?
- Will millions of residents who are in the United States without legal permission have been expelled?
- Will inflation have remained under 2% per year?
- Will unemployment have exceeded 4%?
- Will the wage increases of most Americans have exceeded inflation?
- Will the rates of diabetes and childhood diseases have decreased?
- Will homelessness have decreased and the real cost of housing fallen?
- Will there have been fewer mass shootings?
- Will you be better off in 2028 than you are in 2024?
So, friends, open these envelopes in 2028 over Thanksgiving dinner. And meanwhile, enjoy this year’s dinner conversation.
David Glidden, Riverside
