OUR VIEW: The lost meaning of Veterans’ Day

Veterans’ Day should be a time of patriotic, quiet contemplation, a time to look back and show appreciation for those who have risked or given their lives for this country.

Especially now.

It should not be a time for free hot dogs and drinks for the kids at the big Veterans’ Day Sale.

It should not be a time for big Veteran’s Day Sales.

And yet, every year more and more corporations and groups are belittling Veterans’ Day and what it should be, using it as an excuse to increase business.

Don’t accept such changes. Americans seem to have forgotten the importance of simple gratitude, preferring to have any excuse to spend money.

Memorial Day is already gone. It’s now a day for barbecuing, boating and having a good time with family. Those are all good things and maybe enjoying our freedom is a good way to pay our respects, but once a year, we should still take a moment and solemnly reflect on the ultimate price paid by many brave men and women. Traditionally, that day has been November 11, to coincide with the end of World War I.

Let’s all keep it that way, if only in our hearts.

We regret that we didn’t think to write this editorial before Veterans’ Day. Please, remember what we’ve said the next time the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month rolls around.

And to any veterans reading this, thank you.