Here’s a thought: Don’t blame the merchants who simply are in business to make a dollar for turning Thanksgiving Day into Black Friday Minus One.

The vitriol that has been spewing around the Internet and elsewhere since it became clear that most major retailers in the nation were going to be open on Thanksgiving Day this year is laudable in what it seems to indicate namely, a nation that still values family and spending a day of rest with them.

Much of the commentary centers on a thoughtful desire to be fair to giving the retail workers an actual day off instead of seeing them having to turn out in force early in the day to get their stores ready for the holiday onslaught.

But the reality will be much different.

The allure of discounted merchandise will draw out hundreds of thousands of shoppers nationwide, and probably before the turkey gets cold in the roasting pan after dinner.

It is what it is. People who don’t want to shop won’t be made to go out. It’s not a federal mandate. People who want to shop will do so.

And people who want to give thanks for family and friends, home and hearth and the freedom of living in the United States of America can do so, debit card in hand on Thanksgiving Day or debit card safely ensconced in a wallet in a dresser drawer until the real Black Friday.

 

Steubenville Herald-Star