Published in the Westchester Guardian, January 2014
Creating the All-American Holiday Weekend
It is the biggest annual sporting event our in our country. Families and friends gather together, millions are spent on food, snacks, drinks, etc. Only on Thanksgiving is more food consumed. The game and guests may last late into the night. The entire weekend is a football celebration. It is truly a unique American institution, occurring this February 2nd.
For some a bonding between father (mother) and son (and daughter). For some, also, an annual get-together meticulously planned. (For others, non-interested parties, a quiet day with empty stores and maybe a movie.) However, there is that one constraint that places a burden on all attending, the one thing that cannot be changed – the clock. Not the game clock, but the clock ruling and running our lives. The clock that tells us it’s time for bed for our children who have school and classes. For ourselves, with that morning train to catch, with meetings and appointments and quotas, it’s time to rush home, get to be bed and prepare for work. It is that one common constraint that reigns over all us mortals and cannot be manipulated – for now.
Considered a holiday if not by law, it’s huge audience, production effort and half-time show has even made the most annoying thing on television, the commercial(s), an event/“news” itself as small fortunes are spent by corporations advertising their products. It’s widely accepted that Monday, February 3rd, will probably be one of the least productive work days of the calendar year. On Super Bowl Monday, the workplace displays all the signs of an overtired, sluggish, partied-out labor force. The American worker is the most productive force on the planet, but this is one of the most unproductive workdays of the year where the absentee rate and lateness are high and low productivity abounds. To remedy this will add millions to the U.S. economy. But how? The game, its time slot, its commercialism and consumerism add millions to the economy. It “deserves” to be on a Sunday, but is there a simple remedy for the Monday’s Blahs?
(There are and will be plenty of statistics and data on work unproductivity for Super Bowl Monday and plenty of numbers on how much we eat and drink on Super Bowl Sunday. How sad with so many people in the world malnourished and so many poorly nourished in this country. How sad that every year it’s the same articles and stories over and over.)
There have been unsuccessful attempts to make Monday a National Holiday, however, a few weeks later, always falling on the third Monday of February, Presidents Day honors the Office of the President and all those who obtained and excelled at this high office. This winter holiday is just another paid Holiday to some, to others a break from the routine, a time of sales and a chance to recover from the still remaining holiday stress. This February 17th, our nation closes, shuts down to celebrate, originally the birth, February 22nd, of our very first president. (Some states had different dates, while others celebrated Lincoln’s birth as well.) Over time, the states and federal government have come to an agreement about this date and its placement. This three day weekend has developed, commercialized, and possibly corrupted, into just another minor Holiday, like Veterans Day and Memorial Day: a money, profit –making and promotional holiday weekend. Its meaning and value has been reduced. The unique All-American Institution, the Office of the President, deserves to be with the unique American Super Bowl.
Why not move Presidents’ Day to the day after the Super Bowl. It might possible to make the change for 2015. Have an All-American weekend celebrating two purely, original American institutions – Football and democracy via the Office of the Presidency and the great men who took it upon their shoulders bearing such enormous weight. By condensing Presidents Day with the Super Bowl, the economic effect of sales are magnified and the economics due to low productivity is drastically reduced. The sluggishness displayed by our school children is eliminated. Family bonds and friendships are strengthened and retail sales are enhanced by three days of highly focused sales and events. Creating a new national holiday may be detrimental to the economy and cost more than warranting any change. Many powerful forces are not interested in changing the game date, so let’s adjust the Holiday and create the All-American Holiday Weekend!
With very partisan politics being the norm, this impartial legislative change, although a minor one, will be a pleasant change of business. Now is the time for non-partisan ideas and measures. No one loses a Holiday and everyone, parents, children, businesses gain something. Our Federal government has a petition web site called We the People at https://petitions.whitehouse.gov or https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions. Anyone can submit ideas in petition form. I submitted a petition for the above and need 150 people to sign in for this to be publically viewable. Come and sign, add you voice! Once it gets 100,000 hits, the government will serious consider the proposal, reviewing its worthiness. So let’s get the ball rolling! I’m not that web savvy, but save and Share this URL: https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/move-presidents-day-day-after-super-bowl-creating-all-american-three-day-weekend/zbHsLFTp and set up an account. I’ll need your help. If this doesn’t work, contact me through this paper and let’s try and change something small into something more enjoyable.
Our families and friends can celebrate comfortably together, late into the night. Work efficiency improves; family bonds are strengthened. Let’s push and get it done for 2015. Seriously, there are many important issues we face as individuals and as a nation, but I hope my little idea will make life a little more enjoyable. So on a lighter note, spread the word and let’s create the All-American Holiday Weekend.
Glenn Slaby Blog