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Happy Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Secondhand Sunday, Cyber Monday and Giving Tuesday.
It feels like the post-Thanksgiving timeline is turning into some secular version of the calendar of saints. It stands in sharp contrast to our old “blue laws.”
For decades, Maine statutes prohibited many businesses from operating on the “Lord’s Day.” The definition was changed to “Sunday” in 1985. The laws also applied on several public holidays.
Some of the vestiges of that history remain today. Many stores were closed on Thanksgiving under the current iteration of the old regime. Car dealerships remain closed every Sunday throughout the state as part of the “blue laws.” Boat dealers can open.
While the blue laws were originally established for religious reasons, the rationale for their retention is based on a desire to provide legally required time away from some jobs.
Comparing Maine’s laws to the litany of named days following Thanksgiving is an interesting social study. Which way are we headed?
Over the years, more and more businesses have been exempted from the requirement to close on Sundays or certain holidays. Sometimes it has been done by the Legislature. In 1990, it was done by referendum.
Given that trend, it would seem that blue laws were in retreat. One Kittery motorcycle dealer filed a lawsuit back at the turn of the century, claiming that it was unconstitutional for the state to prohibit it from opening on Sunday since the rules were a mess.
The judge rejected the argument. He acknowledged there was no real logic in Maine’s patchwork approach to the issue, but there is no constitutional requirement for the Legislature to be logical. So the law stood.
While our blue laws may not be what they once were, there are principles that we should hold onto.
The conspicuous consumerism underlying the myriad shopping days following Thanksgiving is great for retailers. Retailers performing well isn’t a bad thing; that is how economies work.
Those retailers buy their products from manufacturers and wholesalers, often overseas. That has led to massive decreases in poverty across the globe. Again, not a bad thing. Millions of people have better lives because of economic integration.
Yet there is something to be said for focusing less on the best deal for the latest gadget and more on the quality of time spent with those around us. This is the time of year that hits home.
The United States is in the midst of a loneliness epidemic, according to the surgeon general. That has very real impacts on our physical and mental health. It is exacerbated by social media; we may be technically interacting with other people, but often it is in an unhealthy manner.
Just read the comments section of nearly any article on any news outlet.
Those problems spill over into our body politic as well. The sheer loathing partisans on either side have toward each other is unhealthy. It is OK to have friends of different political persuasions. But building friendships requires spending time together; it doesn’t just happen.
That brings us back to blue laws. The start of the shopping season sounds like a siren’s call to spend our time spending money in pursuit of the best deal or supporting small businesses. That is good for the economy.
However, time is our most finite resource. And the modern idea underlying the blue laws — that, socially, we value quality time spent together — is good for the soul.
Choose both this season.
