Write to the Point Veterans Day should be about remembering and reflection instead of looking for a rebate

This will be my third column on Veterans Day and frankly, it's been tough to write.

The reason for this is because I think I said everything I wanted to in my first two, namely that we ask those who join our military to put their lives on the line because of our failures.

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After all that is what war is, a failure. It's been described as diplomacy by other means but it's diplomacy that involves the loss of blood and treasure and as such is a failure because that is what diplomacy seeks to avoid — conflict resolution without human loss.

That's been said, and not just by me either. So why go back over the same ground?

I battled myself mentally for hours thinking about this, and what other aspects of Veterans Day I could reveal. Maybe that veterans don't always serve in war zones, or find themselves in any fighting.

Often the first responders to natural disasters are units from our active military or National Guard. We should remember and thank them for that too.

I was on the way to changing my topic when it hit me: Veterans Day is just like any other holiday. By that I mean it's become commercialized.

Or maybe it's starting to be, but in our consumer society, starting is just one step down the slippery slope. We've seen it with other holidays. Halloween candy sold in August, Christmas decorations up before Thanksgiving.

I wouldn't have thought that would happen with a day where solemn remembrance, respect and reflection should be the main focus but there it was Monday night: a commercial for a Veterans Day sale.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised. After all, buying and selling, up selling, consuming and perfecting the art of the deal is what we do in this country. Forget “In God We Trust,” our motto should be “You want fries with that?”

Or “Buy two get one free.” How about “No finance charges for three years with 10 percent down.” No, that won't fit on any currency.

At least the ad noted military members and their families receive a discount. That's nice and I suppose the business felt it was honoring their service by extending them that offer.

I realize business makes the world go round. We are capitalists after all, although we didn't start out that way 230-some years ago. Many in the Revolutionary generation were mercantilists, and some equated capitalism, then a relatively new idea, with sloth.

It wasn't right to benefit off of other people's labor.

Yeah, that's a quaint idea long gone. Still, is it too much to ask to somehow keep the desire to make money out of some holidays carrying meaning far removed from consumerism?

I realize there's no hope for Christmas. December shopping makes or breaks the bank for many businesses. Trying to de-emphasize commercialism during yuletide amounts to a brick wall erected in our economic joy ride.

But Veterans Day still has hope. There aren't the giving traditions that holidays like Christmas and Valentine's Day have. Feasting and celebrating aren't the focus, like Thanksgiving.

There are no bowl games either for that matter. Fireworks would be out of place, and a rabbit with eggs would be too weird. (It's weird enough during that other time too.)

It would be nice if just for once businesses could be a bit more civic minded about at least one holiday, even though not everyone gets Veterans Day off. But many of us, with or without vacation time, will take that day to stop by gravesites to visit loved ones lost in conflict or who served but are now gone.

It would be a day better spent in contemplating our role in their service than looking around for a bargain. Just an idea.