My unpopular opinion #7985

The Fountainhead… by Ayn Rand. Read it. It’s about how society starts to welcome and embrace mediocrity over true art.

Consider this example. Who are you more excited to listen to: Mozart or Ed Sheeran? Who would you say is more talented? But who gets celebrated more? See how there is an imbalance?

Expanding on that thought… We need to stop celebrating “titles”, but rather celebrate accomplishments. Real accomplishments, like solving life problems with inventions, discoveries, creations… not titles.

Celebrating Gay Pride all month because someone is attracted to the same sex is absurd, as it would be to celebrate someone for being attracted to the opposite sex. But commercialism drives it and it makes money for many brands.

Celebrating “Juneteenth” because the last of the slaves in the US learned they were free, is absurd. We should be celebrating freedom in unity, not fractured groups. While Independence Day does not coincide with Juneteenth, the spirit of the holiday is the same: Freedom from oppressors. And we can’t have Juneteenth without Independence Day. But having another commercialized holiday will make more money for brands. I saw t-shirts the other day. Has the meaning already been lost? Yup…

Celebrating St Patrick’s Day in the US is absurd. Oh, it’s fun and very commercialized… so has the meaning been lost? yup…

Celebrating Cinco de Mayo in the US is absurd. Oh, it’s fun and very commercialized… so has the meaning been lost? Yup.

(For those who lack reason and logic, I am listing a few examples above but this is not an exhaustive list of unnecessary holidays we celebrate… so please do not respond with “so you think ‘xyz holiday’ is okay”.)

Today June 19, 2022, is Father’s Day.

Celebrating men who are fathers is simply unnecessary because we should not be celebrated for doing what is expected of us.

There are fathers unworthy of celebration. Yet today, they get celebrated along with “real” fathers. There are adoptive fathers doing a better job than the biological ones. Maybe they should get their own day too… you know, for special acknowledgment. Everybody needs to be recognized for their existence.

We cast a wide net to be inclusive. Heaven forbid someone does not get a trophy. Heaven forbid someone has to work for their reward.

This is just my unpopular opinion… but a real father does not need a day to be celebrated. We are fathers every day and take that responsibility seriously.

I feel like being a father gets diminished by pop culture and commercialism. TV shows make dads look dumb and incompetent. There is no such thing as a “dad joke” because everyone tells them. I am not a father because I want a fancy grill. Nor do I want a fancy grill because I am a father. I do not need society to practically insist people need to buy me something because I am a father.

Hallmark invents days for everything so they can sell cards. We don’t need to accept the commercialism of the greeting card industry. I don’t…

My reward and celebration come from the product of raising my children to be better versions of me. No greeting card or grill can match that reward.