A friend shared some background on why our grocery store elects to be closed all day Easter:
Bri -
You were grumbling about Willie’s being closed on Easter Sunday. But, if your steel-trap memory recalls, before Paul took over the store was never open on Sundays at all – any Sunday. I recall those radio ads that Willie did himself, which all ended with “and closed on Sunday – the Lord’s day.”
I had wondered if maybe Paul just had a hard time finding help on that day. One could not argue with that explanation. But it looks as though a firm religious commitment is at the core.
Admirable? A part of us wants to say yes. But I don't know, Easter is a purely religious holiday. Christ rose from the dead. For us. A happy ending for us, I guess. But there is less than universal acceptance of the "risen" story.
I remember a Christmas Day many years ago when I was "in luck" in a visit to Alexandria. Given that Alexandria is a pretty bustling place, I was fairly confident I could grab a meal before going to the cineplex. I remember the movie on tap for that day; it was Peter Jackson's "King Kong." Interesting how we're attracted to movies where we know the ending. Like "Titanic." Or about Amelia Earhart.
I got worried as I noticed a lot of the standard eating places closed. Then Eureka! Cars parked around the Chinese restaurant. Nice buffet available. I remember buying my Star Tribune newspaper and going in, rather relieved. In those days I so often sought my own personal copy of the Minneapolis paper. I never do anymore. We have all shifted to seeking online news. Online for everything, really.
 |
| Elena Kagan |
I belong to a church named for one of the worst anti-Semites ever, Martin Luther. I have a hard time getting that out of my head when I go there.
We have seen a steady retreat of this notion that our normal activity shuts down on Sundays or certain holidays. Increasingly I think people want a feeling of their normal routine, a feeling that you can obtain the normal services pretty much whenever. Businesses can make sure their employees get enough time off over the long term - "staggered" schedules or whatever.
"Time off" does not mean what it used to. In the pre-digital age which reflected the industrial age system, "time off" was this golden thing. People had jobs by way of necessity rather than having a passion for what they did. Today kids grow up understanding that whatever you end up doing, you should have a passion for it. There might be stress but you seek to adapt to it - it becomes part of your badge of pride.
"As opposed to what?" you might ask. Well in "the old days," workers might seek to cut corners just to save themselves the trouble of working. So let's just say there was a feeling of drudgery. Certainly the contrast can be noticed today.
Am I still not clear? Workers were anxious in previous times to "knock off" on Friday. Then they'd seek escape at a hospitality establishment with alcohol. The sooner you could get there the better. If you were a college student, good luck seeing your advisor on a Friday. They'd likely pull strings to get the hell out of there. Not to mention the office personnel too.
Smacks of a cynical attitude, right? I think most people my age would know what I'm talking about.
The nature of the digital age has caused a shift, somehow. Nothing changes overnight of course, as the late local author Doug Rasmusson pointed out with such poignance. Rasmusson described the daily routine on the old classic "family farm." Changes were sure in store.
So I'm remembering the early days of the Internet - how incredibly quaint - the news reports of disputes over whether workers could be compelled to read their work-related emails in "off" hours. A new attitude was taking root, that your "off" hours were not to be defined as "escape." Put another way, if someone is sending you a work-related email, you are better off reading it now as opposed to later. Get with it, stay on top of things.
So I did not read any more about such "disputes."
The attitude of wanting to escape your duties equates with the often popular notion in the industrial age: you'd "hate your job." Remember the Johnny Paycheck song? Take this job and do whatever? But the song was not about literally hating your job. It was about a man wanting to withdraw because his woman had left him! He was drained, hopefully temporarily, of the incentive for being dedicated at work.
Nevertheless the song became sort of an anthem for the wrong reasons. Such is the power of the "hook" line in a song! This is exhibit 'A'. Another example was how Ronald Reagan misunderstood the message of the song "Born in the U.S.A." It wasn't all that patriotic.
Ah, the industrial age of "work." Because change happens slowly, we might not think of it all that much.
I have read about the "done with church" movement. The piece reflected on the various reasons for the trend. This is germane to what I have been suggesting here. I read that in a previous time, "people had dirty jobs." That's pretty profound. Today you go to an automobile maintenance facility and everything is so clean, quite the reversal from the past.
Tech has enabled many spheres of activity to become more tidy, more palatable to be around. Battery powered devices rather than relying on the old gas and oil system. Dirty! The old Briggs and Stratton motors were a staple for mowers for seemingly time immemorial. Remember the TVs with the big bulky backs to them? How two people might be needed to carry one?
Today? Heavens, need I explain? So the old TV repairmen either vanished or had to dramatically update their skills. Really, to morph into a new profession in effect. "Adapt or die."
The industrial age called on workers who'd just show up and put up with it all. Put on your game face, while in the corner of your mind looking forward to the weekend escape to the "bars." And then the very late-night visit to a restaurant for the "bar rush," where people acted loud and stupid. This phenomenon most definitely existed in our Morris MN. It is absolutely gone with the wind now.
So we move forward. Away from religion? Or to look at it another way, keep religion more in your private thoughts, allow the less-religious or non-religious to have their daily routine without stuff being "closed?" Move over for the Jewish people sometimes - I have no problem with that.
Did the "dirty jobs" make people seek a salvationist faith?
The Chinese restaurant bailed me out once. No catering to the Christian norms there. And I was most appreciative. I'm sure I opened my Sun Tribune and read Sid Hartman.
Addendum: From an email I sent to a friend yesterday: "What does it say about Morris that there was only one Easter buffet and it got way too overcrowded?" Ah, apathy.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
No comments:
Post a Comment