Tired Of Named Days

To my son Tommy,

Someone told me that today is "Giving Tuesday".  Though I never I heard of this day or concept or construct or whatever, I assume it is an effort to balance out the greed of the past few days.  In the past six days, five of them (including today) have been named, with one of them even now having two names.  We have had "Cyber Monday" and "Small Business Saturday" and "Black Friday" and what used to be solely called Thanksgiving is now being referred to some as "Grey Thursday".  Somehow Sunday escaped unless there is some name I am missing.  I suppose an argument could be made for calling it "First Advent Sunday" but if we start using religious names we could probably "name" every day.  But the names I am griping about aren't coming from religion or tradition

It used to be only the greeting card industry would manufacture holidays for their own nefarious purpose of selling more greeting cards through guilt and shame.  How can you miss celebrating Grandparent's day or Secretaries' day or National Booger Picking day.  Okay, maybe your dad created that last one for his own nefarious reasons, but you get the picture of the silliness.

Now all of corporate America (aided and abetted by charities and government types of all persuasions) have started using day naming as a source of coercion and customer control.  It started seemingly innocent enough with Presidents' day auto sales and other such sale days.  Soon it wasn't enough and more and more holidays were usurped and new day names and concepts manufactured.

In the news is a recent vision by the company Amazon where they hope, to in a couple years, be able to deliver more stuff in less time using flying drones.  It won't be long till we have Drone Wednesday.  Maybe we will end up with 3D Printing Thursday after that.  Or some brainchild of commercialism will decide that flying 3d printers can make and deliver your goods at the same time and in less than five minutes.  Then we would have Amazonian Overlord Fridays.

I, for one, could do with less named days.  I don't need it to be "Giving Tuesday" to give to charity and try to save my soul nor do I need it to be "Black Friday" to buy and sell my soul.  I think I can do without this form of corporate mind control no matter the source.  It is bad enough they have already classified my week into weekdays and weekends.  I will still embrace the traditional named days I suppose, but will be wary and cautious when it comes to what social pressure says is expected of me on those days.  Yesterday, today, and tomorrow are probably the only names for days I really need.  Perhaps I will throw in a Thor's day or Saturn's day (now known as Thursday and Saturday) just because they are so prevalent.  Of course, right now, "surgery day" is the only named day that counts and we are on nine ladies dancing for our countdown.

Sincerely with love from your dad,

Leo