We have a new federal holiday, Juneteenth. Personally, I'm not a fan of this latest holiday. I'm sure someone out there will read that last statement and mindlessly attach a label of racist to me. I should probably explain.
This is actually pretty simple. I do not believe the government should dictate what holidays its citizens celebrate. To an extent, I can understand closing offices for the big holidays such as Christmas, Independence Day, and Thanksgiving. I can even understand the government showing some degree of support for these holidays such as decorations and fireworks. This is because these holidays are already so big that it makes more sense to give back to the community that to open up understaffed.
Even this basic support is very different from mandating a celebration. Nobody should be forced to celebrate any of the holidays that I just mentioned. I should also mention that this form of support is a government response to the people rather than people changing for the government.
Prior to recognition as a federal holiday, not many people celebrated Juneteenth. This means that its an attempt by the government to manipulate the holidays that we celebrate. Even with this holiday, I expect it to join the ranks of Memorial Day, Veterans Day, Labor Day, and Presidents Day. Some people will legitimately celebrate the meaning of the day, but a vast majority will simply view it as a day off from work.
Federal holidays should not exist. Again, I can understand the government responding when a holiday is big enough, but the government should not dictate what we celebrate. Let the people decide for themselves what holidays they want to celebrate. This includes Juneteenth. It also includes Independence Day.
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