Is Memorial Day Just Another Excuse to Pimp Products?

 

 

 

WHY DOES AMERICA THINK THIS IS ACCEPTABLE?

Memorial Day is coming up. How do we know this? Just look at the bombardment of upcoming “Memorial Day Sales,” because — you know — nothing honors the war dead more than rushing out to take advantage of 30 percent off a new mattress.

I’m not overly patriotic, but I strongly believe that ONE DAY should be set aside as a remembrance and a reckoning of the enormous sacrifices of so many others who came before us. Instead, it’s become a national shopping spree and a picnic.

I don’t get why this is an acceptable practice. It’s downright disrespectful. The same crowd who typically gets all bent out of shape over the smallest issues and tiniest infractions of patriotic decorum go completely silent when it comes to pimping products under the giant banner of an annual day intended to honor the fallen, those who made the ultimate sacrifice. But hey, a Coors Light 12-pack is on sale at Kroger over the entire Memorial Day weekend.

“Everybody does it,” is not an excuse. In fact, “everybody does it” is an indictment of guilt, and national shame. I mean, is ANYTHING sacred anymore? Apparently not. Capitalism jumped the shark a very long time ago, as we dismiss *everything* becoming a gimmick to plunder consumers for profit as just the way it is. Yes, they all do it. Walmart, Amazon, Target, Wayfair, Best Buy, Home Depot, car dealerships, restaurants, mattress stores — they all use Memorial Day as sales tool and a marketing hook. It’s never enough, is it?

Yes — I’m offended by this, and though I can’t do much to stop it and it’s likely a lost cause, allow this post to be my means of quiet protest.

Those who died to protect us deserve better.