Labor Day 2020

      Labor Day was always the last holiday weekend before we went back to school. More and more lately I have felt a sense of outrage whenever I saw a school district or college opening their doors in August. I can't believe someone would think it a good idea to take a holiday away that we all once understood. 

    Labor Day meant the summer vacation was truly over. It meant we were resuming a well honed routine where we began the education year for younger generations. Starting school in August and then taking a long Labor Day weekend makes no sense. Summer is an all or nothing proposition. It can't be stopped and started easily.

     Today in our Covid-19 world the stopping and starting is much easier because most students, if they are lucky, are being educated online. It is certainly not an ideal situation. The students are missing the valuable lessons they can learn only in the company of others, be they teachers or fellow classmates.      

     Labor Day has less significance this year. It seems all we hear about the students going back to school is the number of them contracting Covid. The pictures of parties with no social distancing or masks are disturbing. common sense appears to be on holiday, not just the usual party goers. 

     There is no vaccine. These matters take time, unless we are very fortunate and the first trials are overwhelmingly successful. I hold out hope for this to happen. It will mean we can start again to develop ordinary, unremarkable habits, instead of living in fear of one another. Labor Day could resume being the last summer holiday. A holiday where we might reflect upon our lives and attempt to think about ourselves in a more positive manner.