Note: This “Moore to the Point” commentary aired on NewsTalkSTL on Wednesday, November 23rd. Audio included below.

I’m not quite sure where the rest of 2022 went, but here we are, the day before Thanksgiving. Which means it’s that time of year when people write all sorts of Thanksgiving-centric pieces analyzing favorite dishes and the costs associated with each. Hint: Don’t read those this year – it’s too depressing.

One of my RedState colleagues happened upon a Washington Post column assessing not the retail costs of Thanksgiving meals but rather the carbon costs. That’s right, the author took the time to calculate the climate impact of turkey, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, cornbread, and green beans (which, by the way, aren’t as environmentally friendly as root vegetables – who knew?)

I don’t really begrudge the lady her effort to pen a somewhat different take on Thanksgiving – I struggle to come up with writing ideas sometimes, too. But I do question this trend of late to take treasured traditions and examine them under a hyper-critical lens. It’s like this weird impulse to deny and denigrate all that’s good in our lives, because they’re not perfect – navel-gazing, rather than focusing on all the reasons we have to be thankful. It sucks the joy right out of the holiday – right out of life.

I say, don’t buy into it. It’s Thanksgiving – time to count blessings not costs.