Memorial Day is supposed to be a day where we honor the sacrifices made by America’s fighting men and women to ensure that we can all live in peace and safety.
Unfortunately, in recent years the holiday has turned into a chance for companies to hold massive sales and try to turn a day of remembrance into a day of profit.
TheBlaze reported that the Chicago Tribune tried to hold a Memorial Day sale to boost its falling subscription numbers, but instead managed to anger thousands of Americans with the advertisement.
The ad proclaimed that you could get 50 percent off a subscription and used a giant American flag as the background. The Tribune apparently didn’t know that you aren’t supposed to use the American flag as advertising material.
“The flag should never be used for advertising purposes in any manner whatsoever,” states the United States Flag Code.
If that wasn’t bad enough, the Tribune had the flag flying backwards on their ad, with the stars on the right instead of the left. The flag is never supposed to be depicted that way in print.
Thousands of people commented on the Tribune’s Facebook post expressing disgust and outrage over the advertisement. More than a few people even stated that they were canceling their subscription to the paper as a result of this.
While capitalism certainly has its advantages, unfortunately it also tends to lead large companies, particularly ones that are desperate for business, to take very insensitive actions and use every opportunity to boost sales.
Some sales days are perfectly fine, but days like Memorial Day and Veterans Day should not be used to increase profits. These are days to remember the sacrifices we have made in the name of freedom.
(via: Conservative Tribune)
