Sale away...

It seems as if any holiday, especially one designated as a Monday holiday so we can have a long weekend, is no longer an opportunity to celebrate the reason for which the holiday was originally created.

We don't celebrate the birthdays of some of our presidents of the U.S., we celebrate Presidents' Day (lumping them all together) or, for some lucky kids, Presidents' Week (still lumping them together). We go on vacations to the sun, to the snow, or week-long expeditions to the mall. Every manufacturer, ever retail outlet, practically every business has a sale that day. But how often do we think about those presidents who have given us our holidays? Or, for other holidays such as Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, or Veterans' Day, how often do we think about the veterans who gave us their time or their lives so we are free to have a job that allows us enough money and the time to take a vacation or buy more stuff at the mall? How often do we pay tribute to the formation of this country, its government, the philosophy that affords us the freedom to declare that we'll not only have a holiday to celebrate, but that we get to take time from work (banks, post offices, government offices, schools, businesses, etc.) and move freely about the US of A at will in order to spend our day or our dollar (or both if a car is involved)?

There's nothing wrong with having sales on holidays, but it appears that the focus of our holidays currently is to "shop". We only have picnics or parades or BBQ-ing before or after we have been properly merchandized. People complain about Christmas becoming too "commercial". Well, I'm not sure that all of our holidays haven't become one big "commercial" enterprise. Considering that houses are getting bigger--we do need more space for all that stuff we are convinced must be purchased, especially on sale, sometimes two for the price of one!--and landfills are quickly being overwhelmed by items being thrown away in record volume (some of which are probably serviceable, fixable, re-usable but which don't meet the current needs of their former owners). Perhaps we should return our focus to the original group, person, ideal for which the holiday stands, refuse to buy more stuff until what we have wears out, is given to someone who can use it or is recycled, and enjoy the day off being with family and friends, enjoying the bounties of nature, our community, and just how fortunate we are to live in a country that affords us yearly opportunities to say "thank you" to those who made sacrifices in order for us to be free. Buying $100 designer jeans for $79.99 or a new car with gas coupons that will keep our fuel purchases at $2.99/gallon no matter what, just don't seem like appropriate ways to pay homage to great men and women and the ideals that continue to draw the attention of the world's citizens. So, if you must spend some of your holiday shopping, at least take a few moments to remember that the liberty you enjoy in so doing came at a cost.