Murphy’s Logic: Giving thanks with a paid holiday

Whatever our problems, we have a great deal to be thankful for.

In recent years, it has become popular to thank people for their service.

It’s a practice that seems to have originated in the United States about 25 years ago as a way of recognizing members of the military and even politicians. The sentiment was widely expressed after the 9/11 terror attacks to honour first responders.

When COVID-19 severely curtailed the economy three-and-a-half years ago, the expression was also extended to include those who continued working in essential, if modestly-compensated, service jobs, while the rest of us were told to stay home.

The grocery industry comes to mind. The work of the people who stock the shelves and staff the checkouts was never more appreciated. For those workers, feeding the rest of us meant risking their own health and, for a while, they were given small bonuses, hero pay, as a material way of saying thanks. But the bonuses ended with the lockdown.

The point is, there are a lot of people who do valuable jobs without much recognition or pay. Saying, "thank you for your service” is nice, but actions speak louder than words.

One small way to express real thanks would be to make Thanksgiving a paid holiday for everyone. Ironically, under provincial law, it is not for many of the people who work very hard for little money.

Businesses may bristle at the small-added cost, but surely the experience of the pandemic, and the current shortage of service industry workers, proves the value of giving thanks to people we all rely on every day.