He said
It's not disrespectful to stay open on any day.
Most special days are not ones that people really take the time to acknowledge and celebrate, or in this case remember. Even with Remembrance Day, only a handful of people really take notice of why this day is of any more significance than a typical Tuesday.
Some people go to the cenotaph. Some people sleep in or go away to the cottage one last time before the winter really kicks into high gear, and they don't think about any soldiers past or present who give their lives for the ability to go to the cottage one last time.
I have a lot of respect for Remembrance Day. I certainly feel it's a much more worthy day to recognize than the birthday of Queen Victoria.
People choosing to keep their businesses open to serve customers is not disrespectful. A lot of work places take the day off, so a lot of stores will remain open in order to serve all those people who don't have to work. It's a day for stores to make money, especially with the early-bird Christmas shoppers.
I remember a conversation in college that my journalism class had with our profs. We were having an editorial meeting, and Peter Conradi, the managing editor at the Niagara Falls Review, asked the group if we should bother covering Remembrance Day.
We put our collective foot down, taking a stand for both veterans and poppies. Conradi assured us he didn't hate the troops and was just questioning whether Remembrance Day was relevant, particularly for a publication that targeted 19-year-olds. He was just asking us if we thought Remembrance Day coverage would sell newspapers. Of course it wouldn't sell a single paper, but we thought it was important enough to cover and nobody read the student paper anyway.
Remembrance Day may be the most significant special day of the year, at the very least beating out Family Day, but even so, very few people give it much attention.
If the general public doesn't give it any thought, why should store owners treat it as sacred? They know more people are going to be attending the open stores than those who are going to be recognizing the significance of the day.
It just makes sense to stay open.
She said
Yes.
Remembrance Day isn't some trivial government holiday that the ambitious can ignore with the bottom line in mind. Remembrance Day is meant to show respect and gratitude to the brave men and women who have served in the name of our freedom. Keeping your business open during Remembrance Day really just shows that you value making a buck over being appreciative toward all that you've been given.
And, unlike Christmas or Easter, you can't shrug Remembrance Day off as something religious. There can be no "Oh sorry, I don't celebrate Remembrance Day because it's not part of my religion." Do you live in Canada? Are you personally free from war? Then heck, yes, Remembrance Day is for you.
Consider that you probably wouldn't own a designer shoe store if there were a draft in affect. You'd be fighting in some horrible war. Your family members, too, would be off battling somewhere. Seems like locking up for a day isn't such a huge price to pay when you consider the alternatives.
I do see one exception, however: businesses that offer awesome discounts or some type of special treatment for veterans are welcome to stay open. Nothing says "thank you" like 50 per cent off their pancake breakfast. Or maybe a door prize when a veteran enters your store. Something along those lines. If you're going to stay open, you might as well put the people who won you your freedom first.
We have so much to be grateful living in Canada and it's a shame that business owners don't always realize this. I don't think it would hurt you terribly to stay home one day of the year. Even if you don't catch a Remembrance Day ceremony or thank a veteran personally, spend time with your family and be thankful that because of the sacrifice of others, you have a family to spend time with.
