That is not to say that I take for granted the significance of the Independence Day event. How fortunate we are to have been born into this remarkable country!
But today, Gerry has cut the grass. I have been doing the things I usually do, from food prep to weeding the garden to Netflix watching. Then Gerry and I played tennis for our daily exercise.
On the drive home from the tennis courts, I noticed that all the stores seem to be open. I expected Wal-Mart to be open, and the grocery stores. But somehow, I did not expect all the stores to be open for business today, including even the Auto-Parts store and the Salvation Army store!
I'm not sure what I was expecting for this holiday, but that was not it. All businesses seem to be open as usual!
For some reason, I thought about Christmas and realized that it is the last remaining day for stores to be closed. This past year, Thanksgiving took the fall from a holiday status to a day for business and consuming, in the build-up to Christmas. I do believe that in the next few years, Christmas Day will no longer be "sacred", or safe from holiday consumerism.
And certainly, not all Americans are Christians.
When the stores all stay open on Christmas Day, and I believe they will, I wonder if employees can opt out of working, for religious reasons?
And will they?
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