Wednesday, February 3, 2010

I've become that guy.

I saw a movie trailer the other day, and at the end they didn't have a release date. All it said was "President's Day." That's all fine and dandy, but then I sat there and thought to myself, what day is that? And only to realize that due chiefly to the effects of pop culture, I know MLK day's date, but not President's Day. Not that I think that MLK was insignificant, but banks and schools are closed that day; whereas all of our past Commander-in-Chiefs obviously wanted us to buy furniture. In the larger picture, isn't President's Day more significant simply because we are celebrating 44 men who held office versus one man who challenged the status quo?
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1 comment:

  1. UnknownFebruary 7, 2010 at 11:39 AM

    You certainly have become that guy. There are very few presidents who have changed a nations culture and outlook on humanity through perseverance and forthrightness. Abe Lincoln comes to mind, and not even what he accomplished was started as a moral obligation. True some of the presidents have had arduous tasks, but they also had armies of bureaucrats and sometimes literal armies of people to carry out thier mandates.
    Now all that isn't to say that President's day should be less recognized. But why is there a President's day in general now versus how the "holiday" was started? And why do businesses close on MLK day and people shop on President's day? Well the answer is uniquely American. Because Business pushed for Washington's Birthday (the original President's day) to fall on the third Monday of the month, which would then be close to Lincoln's birthday, so that they could have sales. If you'll forgive me, the solemnity of MLK's movement does not lend itself to "let's have a sale!" At least not yet. It did take two hundred years for Washington's birthday to become and advertising campaign, let's see what another 40 years gives us...

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