Gratitude is one of the noblest words in the English language. It pictures us at our best. Conversely, ingratitude reveals a person at his or her worst. "How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is to have a thankless child!"2 lamented King Lear. Thoughtful people everywhere, of all ages, faiths, and cultures have extolled gratitude.

Let us think of gratitude as it relates to our American Thanksgiving. For most of us, Thanksgiving means eating. First we stuff the turkey then we stuff ourselves. We go to a football game, get drunk, and call it Thanksgiving. It is a farce. Some years ago the New Yorker published a cartoon: a table fairly groaning with delicious food and the cheerful grandfather asking brightly, "Shall we say grace?" Who wouldn’t be thankful under those circumstances? It has be…