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Or this:<\/p>\n

Or even this:<\/p>\n

With their families throughout the day without their time being yanked away from them for the sake of Madison Avenue. \u00a0I know, grocery stores have long been opened, and I suppose given the nature of the feast day and the tendency of procrastinators everywhere, that\u2019s understandable. \u00a0I also understand businesses of\u00a0necessity\u00a0and charity and care giving are required to be open. \u00a0My Dad, a railroad engineer, frequently missed Thanksgiving proper. \u00a0I can remember many times having Thanksgiving feasts on Friday or even Saturday when he finally came home.<\/p>\n

But that\u2019s not what is happening here<\/a>. \u00a0The things breaking up the holiday are not for the holiday themselves. \u00a0Nor are they for\u00a0necessity\u00a0 \u00a0They are so Americans can get an X% discount on the latest object of consumerist feeding frenzies. \u00a0Talking about whipping donkeys. \u00a0Lemming\u00a0mentality\u00a0anyone? It\u2019s been said that Americans no longer have time for presidential scandals or threats to national security. \u00a0As long as we have the latest iPhone or iPad App, that\u2019s all we care about. \u00a0And an App that helps us put our face on a Macy\u2019s Thanksgiving Day Parade balloon is a hell of a late more important than, say, the fate of fellow Americans and their time with families. \u00a0Such is the result of a nation that told itself not to care about anything unless it directly impacts me. \u00a0That door, I\u2019m afraid, swings both ways.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"