When the markets are wrong

Before we begin, let's set the record straight:

Business is a good thing, but it is not God.

Earlier today we were virtual visitors to a forum site where we used to post somewhat, and got caught up in a thread where some were bewailing the fact that many businesses are advertising that they will be open on Thanksgiving Day. Our first reaction? Where have you people been? This is nothing new. It's worse, of course, in 2004, but the trend to turn Thanksgiving into a shopping event started many years ago with an inevitable destination: this holiday is doomed except for a privileged few in the middle class and a small upper crust. It is why you hear of so many families having their Thanksgiving on the Saturday or Sunday before or after the actual event.

It's part of the Law of Unintended Consequences, Kiddos (or LUCK). Once a major retailer determines that they will remain open in order to "help out" those poor souls who "must" be able to purchase a belt sander, or a case of oil, or a DVD of Shrek2 "now," or (better yet) provide a social place for the holiday-challenged to feel as if they are part of something (anything) instead of Lonely at Home, then sooner rather than later other businesses must follow suit. Staying open on Thanksgiving is a competitive advantage. You gotta beat that competition.

As LUCK would have it, this is the history of Sundays. In the lifetime of the Oklahomilist -- and he is not yet ancient, though sometimes he feels that way -- businesses did not stay open on Sundays. By common agreement in the age of automobiles there were a mere handful of stations that would sell you gasoline, cigarettes, ice and soft drinks. The staples of life on Sunday. Prudent people made sure they had already done their shopping. Some businesses shut their doors at 1 p.m. to give their employees a chance at a family weekend.

Then came Wal Mart. (You may substitute the retailer of your choice for Wal Mart if you wish. We merely report our own observations.) Everything changed. At first WM merely opened earlier and stayed open later than everyone else, but shut down on Sundays. That was competitive pressure, and morally acceptable (from a Christian perspective). Then WM raised the bar, opening on Sunday afternoons and evenings. Other retailers, large and small, really had no choice. Match hours or face loss of business. With smart pricing and advertising, WM already had a sizeable competitive advantage. There is nothing wrong with intense competition, and we admire and respect the WM business model as a truly American phenomenon.

But businesses cannot stay open on Sundays and holidays without employees to staff them. Employees, in case any of us have forgotten, are people. Individuals who have families and lives that should extend beyond their employment. With each business that opted to match the expanded hours, more individuals were called to duty. Many of these people once believed in the commandment to keep the Lord's Day holy. WM and others told them that there was a greater law that must be kept: the law of economic survival. Thus the choice: a job or a conscience. Team players should work the occasional Sunday (as often as possible). Non-team players face the possibility of job loss, demotion or dead-end. It is not a fair fight: WM's payoff is immediate. God's payoff is somewhere down the road. Most have chosen to work Sundays.

Wouldn't you know that it is just our LUCK, as Americans, to have witnessed the decline of Christian civilization occur while simultaneously watching the rise of the 24/7 retailing and entertainment shibboleth. Family life is not what it once was. Latch-key children are common, family dinners are rare, church attendance in many parts of the country is static or declining. While most Americans still consider themselves religious, or even Christian, it often is a different kind of religious, one that makes allowances for social pressures.

There aren't many preachers or priests making a lot of noise about how fitfully the Sabbath commandment is kept. A pity, actually. A confrontation between God and Mammon, even if only through surrogates, would give people the opportunity to think about what it is they are giving up when they sacrifice their sabbath for shopping.

For we must understand that it is not only those business that stay open who are to blame for the loss of the sacred sabbath and the honored holiday. If only a few purchased goods on Sunday, or on Thanksgiving, or Christmas, or Easter, the stores would decide not to stay open. The goal is not to undermine society. (That is just the bad LUCK.) The goal is profits.

When we decide to go buy that pair of shoes on Sunday -- even if we already have been to worship -- we justify that store's decision to stay open. When we put off our grocery shopping until Sunday evening, after the last touchdown has been scored, we tell God that we appreciate His bounty but the sale prices at the local food mart are only good until midnight, and we justify that store staying open, and we demand by our presence that all those who work there give up their rights to a sacred sabbath.

A few more points:

It is not the place for government involvement to regulate Sunday and holiday business. (Let's not make a bad thing worse.)

We believe that if businesses were to close on Sundays and holidays, they would discover that they would still do the same dollar volume, with lower overhead. Demand would be reallocated over six days. Businesses would benefit with happier employees.

Employees would benefit from time to spend with families and with God. You cannot put a price tag on spiritual benefits, but that does not mean they do not exist or do not have value.

Discussing the Sunday sabbath violation (of American culture) over the weekend, we were challenged by a skeptical 15-year-old student who said, "You don't seriously expect America to go back to the way things were? Everyone in our society would have to agree, and that's not going to happen." Maybe not, we answered, but society is made of individuals, and individuals have free will. If enough individuals freely chose to honor the sabbath and stay away from businesses, maybe society could change. Slowly perhaps, but we didn't get to where we are overnight either.

We have lost much more than we have gained. If you are over 50, you might remember and agree. If you are under 50, you'll just have to take our word for it.

Business is good, but it is not God.