Show of hands: How many of you had Veterans Day off work? How many of you didn't?
Maybe its because I grew up in Massachusetts--dreaded liberal ungodly evil permissive shameful unpatriotic anti-American pinko commie society that it is--but we ALWAYS had Veterans Day off school and out of work. No questions. No debates. So why does Virginia, bastion of the Christian Coalition and True American Patriots so we're told, not honor Veterans Day? Why were Virginia students in school today? Why was my office open?
Short Story Long: WHY--when we have Americans dying every single damn day in Iraq, and thousands more separated from their families around the world, and young people back home with limbs missing--WHY has Veterans Day become a non-holiday, an optional celebration? Is it because we have Memorial Day for all the veterans dead already? Why do we not equally honor those still living as well as departed? I think it is a disgrace.
There. That's my Andy Rooney rant for you today.
PS--A quickie history of Veterans Day for trivia lovers:
WWI memorial services all took place on November 11, the anniversary of the end of World War I at 11:00 a.m., November 11, 1918 (the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month), which became known as Armistice Day.
Armistice Day officially became a holiday in the United States in 1926, and a national holiday 12 years later. On June 1, 1954, the name was changed to Veterans Day to honor all U.S. veterans.
In 1968, new legislation changed the national commemoration of Veterans Day to the fourth Monday in October. It soon became apparent, however, that November 11 was a date of historic significance to many Americans. Therefore, in 1978 Congress returned the observance to its traditional date.
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