No Holiday - In the National Review, Alan Dowd makes the absurd case for designating September 11th as a national holiday. But not just any old regular national holiday, but one that actually has meaning, defined by him, of course. He advocates mandating that the American public show their respect and grief:

"If the nation's political leaders were able to convince employers to do this — whether through moral suasion or legislation — September 11 would have a dramatically different feel and tone than every other national holiday. There would be no presents to buy, no holiday sales to visit, no cards to send, no feast to cook, no parades to orchestrate, no customers to serve. Instead, an entire nation would reflect on what we lost and what we have."

You can close stores and schools and offices, but you can't force people to reflect. My objections don't have anything to do with our "secular, multicultural society." No one wants to forget the people who died as a result of the terrible events of September 11th. But I think that designating September 11th as a national holiday is a short-sighted idea, and the author's argument glosses over the reasons why many national holidays have lost some of their symbolism. Even though holidays have become commercialized, they are still an opportunity to spend time with people you care about, to have the time to do things you want to do. And, aren't some of the reasons to reflect on September 11th to think about the freedoms we enjoy and to spend time together with our families, perhaps over a feast?

I believe that each individual should have the opportunity to decide how he wants to reflect and remember on that day. The act of choosing to take that day off is much more symbolic than simply getting it off as a matter of law. You're not going to stop people from taking a weekend trip if September 11th falls on a Friday or Monday. The type of holiday the author describes exists only in his own imagination and there's no persuasion or legislation that will change that fact.