War On Thanksgiving

As one grows older, there is a natural tendency to look back in the past with affection for times gone by. With the month of November rapidly advancing, my thoughts turn to the wonderful Thanksgivings I had as a youth with my family in New Jersey. It was very important that we sit down and give thanks for all we had. I think it was very special to my father who grew up in dire poverty to see that, he like millions of others, had survived the War and the Depression. To have his family sit around that noisy table meant something. My story was repeated in countless homes across America.

But now the holiday and traditions of Thanksgiving are under assault. Unlike the dubious so-called War On Christmas, there is a full frontal assault on Thanksgiving. And we are the attackers. Retail stores will now open on Thanksgiving as mobs rush to save 20 bucks on a flat screen tv. People who work in those stores will have either little or no time to spend with their families on this holiday. There will be no shared meal for hundreds of workers, some in our Valley as people ironically enough rush to buy gifts to express love and affection at Christmas time.

Yes people have worked on previous Thanksgivings. Restaurant have always had one of their busiest days on Thanksgiving. Plus our emergency workers and first responders are always on duty. But in attempt to revive a changing retail sector, almost all the big chain stores are opening on Thanksgiving Day. Local outlet malls will be open all day. Most Millennials with no “Traditions App” on their I Phones or Droid devices will flock to these stores. In the long run it is dubious whether or not opening on Thanksgiving is economically viable.

3 states, Maine, Rhode Island and Massachusetts ban shopping on Thanksgiving. Thank God for some common sense in this era of all for me. Many pay lip service to “Family Values”, yet what could be of more value to a family than having a real family meal at Thanksgiving? Will our future generations memories of this day include missing Grandma or Grandpa's last Thanksgiving because they had to work as a stock boy or counter girl at some long dormant retail chain? Or how they had dinner at 11am so Mom could rush off to work?

It has amazed me how easily our society has surrendered in this War On Thanksgiving. There has been little or no reportage on the encroachment of the forces of greed and avarice and most of all, instant gratification as they have converged to perhaps permanently destroy Thanksgiving. A sad commentary on modern times indeed.

Steve Kelly is on 1450 KPTR weekdays from 4 to 6PM. He can be reached at skelly@rrbroadcasting.com.