Am I an idiot or uninformed?
Over the weekend I wrote a posting about me calling this week Patriotism week and how I called for people to ask for September 11th to be called Patriot Day. Well I am not sure if I am an idiot or just uninformed, because September 11th is already called Patriot Day. You can read about it here, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patriot_Day
I am not sure if my subconscious knew this already when I typed it or if I had heard it somewhere and did not remember it. I do not ever remember hearing that this was declared an official holiday. Don’t get me wrong, I am so glad that it is, but what is really concerning out of all of this (besides the fact that maybe I am getting old and forgetting things), is that it is not formally recognized. Why isn’t this a day off for people to reflect on the day, what it means, maybe to take time on that day to do something kind and unselfish for our country and fellow citizens? The more I think about it, the more I am starting to realize maybe becuase the whole 9/11 moment just overshadows it. Maybe that is the reason why nobody really says, “Hey it’s Patriot Day” or “Happy Patriot Day”.
According to the wikipedia link above, “On this day, the President directs that the flag of the United States be flown at half-staff and displayed from individual American homes, at the White House, and on all U.S. government buildings and establishments, home and abroad. The President also asks Americans to observe a moment of silence beginning at 8:46 A.M. (Eastern Daylight Time) marking the first plane crash on Sept. 11, 2001.’”
I am glad that those actions are recommended, but it bothers me that it is listed as a “It is a discretionary day of remembrance“. I don’t think it should be discretionary, it should be formal and mandatory or whatever the proper term should be.
Needless to say I have gone back and edited the original posting, by taking out the parts where I called on people to stand up and request this be a holiday. If you have already wrote a letter to a newspaper or your Senator or something, well I am sorry that I just made ya look dumb. But not as dumb looking as me.
In closing, I would hope all who read this accept my apologies for posting something before I had done my research. However I hope that maybe this is a wakeup call to anyone who reads this blog that we do have a holiday on September 11th, and it is a day for remembrance, a day to fly your flag at half-staff, and a day to maybe wear something really patriotic and let anyone that you run into that you ARE a Patriot, that you ARE an American and that you ARE damn proud of it.
Steve
September 10th, 2008 at 9:29 amThe only problem I see with this is that Patriots Day in Massachusetts is April 19th and it commemorates the battles of Lexington and Concord.