Sunday, November 11, 2007

Veterans Day Sales Event

That’s what the ad on tv said: “Veterans Day Sales Event.” How about “Returning Heroes Who Saved Us From Speaking German and/or Japanese Sales Event”? Or, “Survivors Of Normandy Landing, Corregidor, Iwo Jima and Guadalcanal Sales Event”?

I’d rather see something like, “Veterans, bring your discharge papers and get 25% off, as a sign of our appreciation.”

Presidents Day . . . good day for sales in a month that’s generally pretty dead. Ok, now name ten presidents. Martin Luther King; as one girl said, “He was a black guy, he did something.” Labor Day, and how do we celebrate labor? By ending summer, packing up the cottage, pulling in the boat, having one more barbecue. Even Cinco de Mayo, vastly more a U.S. holiday than Mexican, is more a sales event than a local battle celebration.

If we’re going to have the day off, we should be able to thoroughly identify the meaning of the holiday. Which presidents’ birthdays did we combine, and why did they rate a day each? Who was MLK, aside from “a black guy … he did something”?

There’s a reason we honor these people, and it’s not just so we can hang a sale on their 3-day weekend. I just wonder if we should automatically get the holiday if we can’t identify the person and be able to say something about them. We all know who Santa Claus and Jesus Christ are, regardless of our religion; the others … eh …

2 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

You nailed it.

You forgot Thanksgiving and black Friday, which people give thanks for having found a parking space within 50 feet of the mall, and/or having found their XBox at a price which really isn't a deal anyway.

Here is a good one for y'all.....

Here in Québec City we are having the 400th anniversary of Québec. A very historical event say ye?

OK...The Pope is supposed to show up......WHAT does HE have in common with the history of Québec? Nuttin' BUT can't you imagine all those bucks rolling in?

The auther of Harry Potter is coming by......mo' bucks.

I live across the river, I cannot patronize these promoters whose goal is a dumpster full of money gained by duping the public and prostituting our culture for their own material gains.

November 12, 2007 7:54 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

You said:

I’d rather see something like, “Veterans, bring your discharge papers and get 25% off, as a sign of our appreciation.”

My husband, who wore the uniform of a U.S. Marine from 1980 to 1988, didn't pay for a meal all day today. The people at the road house where he often gets lunch weren't taking the money of anyone who ever served in the military. And Golden Corral (a buffet place that has some good food now and again) did the same for dinner. It seemed to me that the day was less about the sales and more about the thanks.

And that's the way it ought to be.

November 13, 2007 12:42 AM  

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