In case a person hasn't heard, yesterday was Black Friday. I
can't imagine anybody hasn't heard of it because the event receives as much
publicity as the Thanksgiving holiday we celebrated on Thursday.
Black Friday is a manufactured event in which the focus is
on how much shopping our country does in anticipation of Christmas. If ever
there was an event that displayed the United States
After all, in the eyes of many, Christmas will not exactly
be Christmas unless we all run out and spend ourselves blind. Don’t get me
wrong; I enjoy buying gifts for loved ones and consider it a blessing to be able
to show those around me how I feel about them.
However, things are being taken too far. How far? Let us
begin with the actions of many national retail chains on Thanksgiving.
Not too long ago, Thanksgiving was a holiday in which most
reputable businesses would shut down for the day to allow their employees to
spend time with their families. Unless somebody worked in the area of essential
services (police, fire, news/communication, etc.), there was a good chance they
would enjoy a day off.
This attitude is slowly changing, and we saw evidence of
that on Thursday. Many national chains opened on Thanksgiving night to get a
jump on Black Friday. Several opened at 8 or 9 pm Thanksgiving night and stayed
open through the night into Friday.
I know times are tough economically and businesses need to
exploit every opportunity to make money. But seriously, do we really have to
spoil a national day of Thanksgiving so people can tumble over each other to
buy things they do not really need anyway? Can’t we wait one more day before we
do that?
Unfortunately, I see Thanksgiving going the way of other
holidays in terms of how it is respected. I am old enough to remember when
holidays like Memorial Day and Labor Day resulted in many businesses being shut
down so their employees could observe the holiday. Not anymore. Those days are
business as usual for most companies now.
Now, it appears the same treatment is being given to
Thanksgiving. How long will it be before most businesses are observing normal
working hours on this day? After all, a major component for many on this holiday
is to give thanks to God for how our nation has been blessed. As our country
becomes more secularized, will the need for a day of Thanksgiving be watered
down or eliminated?
Don't laugh. It would be easy to write me off as hysterical
and paranoid on this topic, but as Bobby Dylan sang: The times they are a-changin'.
It is hard for me to respect a company that would not allow
its employees to have Thanksgiving off as a holiday. Additionally, I will be
keeping a close eye on what companies will be open on Christmas as well. My
money talks (and so does yours), and if I catch wind of a company showing such
disrespect toward its people, then it will be difficult for me to spend money
there.
While some may scoff and believe that one person cannot make
a difference, I will respectfully remind those people that many of the messes in
our country are because people simply will not take a stand against issues that
are wrong.
As a country, we worship at the altar of materialism. We
look the other way most of the time. Can't we just draw the line and let
Thanksgiving and Christmas remain special days? It is not much to ask.
No comments:
Post a Comment