With autumn transforming the landscape, I have been grateful to be able to reflect on many wonderful experiences growing up as a person from Plymouth, Massachusetts, where remembrances of Pilgrim and Native collaboration, to my perception as a child, at least, abounded. While I realize not everyone does, I believe there continues to be great value behind the idea of Thanksgiving and, even though it absolutely must be paired with a solemn appreciation of very much reconciliatory work that remains to be done, I still feel reminded this time of year of being surrounded by active celebrations of ideas of welcome, collaboration, and mutual appreciation.

For the past several years, I have given a great deal of thought to the concepts of compositional and formal structural integrity with regard to the fracturing facing the country; and I have felt particularly inspired to remember that one notable aspect of America’s founding was what many believe to be its framers’ partial reliance on Native – and, specifically, Haudenosaunee – governmental concepts. (I loved learning today about both the Wampanoag and Haudenosaunee peoples’ use of artistry in recording important ideas and events via wampum.) I believe it is interesting that, unlike the new government, which did the opposite, the Haudenosaunee only permitted women to have a say in the appointment and dismissal of chiefs. So, while it drew inspiration from the shape of Haudenosaunee government (and I do not believe anyone advocates today for gender-based power structures), it’s notable that the new government was totally different compositionally. While compositional structural integrity is still very important to address (particularly as our framers seemed to err so greatly in failing to better take it into account more than 200 years ago, arguably leading to devastating delay in the abolition of slavery), modern media corporations, buttressed by stock market forces unforeseen at the time of the ratification of the Constitution, today seem to be disregarding principles of formal structural integrity – almost literally changing the shape of government without the participation or approval of its citizenry.

While I know it is not a popular sentiment to articulate, I still feel there is something to be said for governance supported – rather than incended or repressed – by journalism organizations; and I believe the matter of media hegemony over the country needs to be addressed in the public sphere. As it seems to me we have two options in addressing the macroeconomic tensions – not people – that currently seem to be pulling the country apart: (1) direct insulation of journalistic organizations from stock market forces or (2) some sort of counterbalance, I hoped to re-post an article, “Does Three-Dimensional Thinking Illustrate a Fifth Estate Rooted in Thanksgiving?,” published five years ago in order to help spur fruitful dialogue on this topic.