Forgive me for putting on my Jerry Seinfeld hat for a minute, but quite frankly, what is the deal with Thanksgiving food? Why do we gather on one day a year to eat the worst type of meat, weird soggy cut up bread, dessert sweet potatoes and the abomination that is green bean casserole? 

I think the answer might be “because this is America,” but I do not think that answer is good enough. We need to get to the bottom of why we subject ourselves to this every year. Obviously, these were not the foods that the pilgrims brought to the table in 1621, so why do we eat them today? It should not come as much of a surprise to anyone, but the answer simply is good, old-fashioned American capitalism.  

I was not aware that I had such strong feelings about Thanksgiving and it being the so-called “best meal of the year” until I found myself watching a documentary last week. There was a whole segment on the history of Butterball turkeys, which was not something I ever thought I needed to know about. 

For nearly half an hour, I watched people trying to make meat that nobody would ever choose to eat into a delicious novelty for one special day a year. There was also a segment about how cranberry sauce was made because some bigwig executive demanded that cranberries be harvested faster, which resulted in him ruining the entire yield that year. Somehow, that led to the creation of canned cranberry sauce. 

Now, there are two whole businesses that only cater to one day. I don’t know about anybody else, but if I was trying to make a new brand, I would use food that was already well-liked, and I would not only market it for one day a year.  

Regardless of whether it would be my business venture, it is what our ancestors (and by ancestors, I do mean white businessmen in the 1950s) picked for us, and we have to deal with it. There is a silver lining in all of this. 

Thanksgiving food can be good. You just have to make it good, whether that be by putting a spin on an old classic, such as a deep-fried turkey, or carefully curating your plate with only the most edible foods you can find. 

“I think it can be good as long as it is done right,” freshman Kaitlyn Walker said. She discussed how good her family’s food is and how excited she is to go home for the holiday.  

Freshman Samantha Whitehair claims that there are some aspects of the Thanksgiving menu that are better than others. 

“I like the mac and cheese and mashed potatoes,” Whitehair said, but she agreed that there is no need for turkey and green bean casserole on the table.

While I do not love Thanksgiving food, I know that the food that I am going to be eating on Nov. 23 of this year will be delicious because my family made it. More importantly, I will enjoy the food on my plate because I will not be adding certain foods to it. 

As much as I love my mother, I will never enjoy the cranberry sauce and brussels sprouts that she makes for the holiday, but I will always be appreciative of everything she does. Isn’t that the true spirit of Thanksgiving, anyway? 

In addition to my hopefully shared opinion that Thanksgiving food is just not great, I am also in the camp of celebrating Christmas the day after Halloween, so Thanksgiving takes the backseat in my holiday celebrations every year. Sure, it is nice to have some extra time off, and I like watching the parade as much as the next person, but is Thanksgiving really that great?  

I personally believe that we should let the people in our lives know we are thankful for them every day. We should not only express our gratitude for our families, safety, happiness and health on one day, especially on a day where we gather around a dry turkey and a piece of pie covered with whipped cream because that is the only way it is edible.  

With all of this being said, I cannot wait to sit down next week with a plate of turkey, mashed potatoes and stuffing to watch The Godfather on repeat. It might not be my favorite day of the year, but I am still an American, after all.