Why We’re Thankful

Today is a day most of us spend focused on family and friends and food. That’s as it should be, and we wish you joy of all three. We should count our personal blessings as well as remember those who are not so blessed, and could well use a bit of our abundance.

But what should we be thankful for as participants in this still-shaky economy, as businesses or as taxpayers? It has been a tough year for America: a lot of bad decisions, and even the unchecked repercussions of some good ones, brought us to an undeniable low point of finances and faith in our systems. Most of us have spent the past months feeling quite decidedly un-thankful for the mess we got ourselves into. For as much as we love to point to the big bad guys, this is a representative democracy and a capitalist economy, and each and every American is as responsible for the direction this country takes as we are entitled to enjoy the benefits of living here.

Perspective is the view from where you’re standing, and for a long time, most of us were standing at the top and looking down. But when we’re in the troughs, as we have been recently, you see the world in a whole new way. It also becomes necessary to prioritize. While the extremes are troubling, causing massive layoffs and reduced services, the upside is leaner businesses and better models. As the economy springs back, employers (as well as employees) may have a different take on what one can sacrifice and a new appreciation for the essentials.

In the solar industry in particular, which has had as bumpy a ride as any market (and bumpier than some), we can be thankful for strong and diverse support. Political leadership at the state and federal levels, companies re-inventing themselves to stay in the game, shareholders doing their best to find stable ground, and especially the consumers who continue to voice a call for solar power have all buoyed this industry.

The continued, widespread support for solar energy is also an indicator that the tide has shifted–perhaps for good–on the general attitude towards climate change. We should be grateful that there is finally enough public agreement on the need to address universal issues of environmental stewardship and future energy security that the real work is now getting done: where the energy will come from, how it will be integrated into our existing systems, and how we will manage resources moving forward.

We know this is a hard time for so many families across America, and it is our sincere hope that by this time next year, we can dispense with the gravity and return to just having a grand old time eating turkey. In the meantime: have a grand old time eating turkey (and cranberry sauce, and baked yams, and pie). Happy Thanksgiving!