Let Us Turn Our Thoughts Today to Martin Luther King Day

Do Americans take today off? Judging by the amount of email I’ve received, the answer is no. Wikipedia to the rescue:

Although the day is a federal holiday and a state holiday in all states, it is usually not observed by small private companies except for banks. Some large corporations close their operations (more so than on Veterans Day or Columbus Day, which are also federal holidays, but less so than on holidays such as Memorial Day or Labor Day when virtually all corporations are closed), but small shops, restaurants, and grocery stores tend to remain open. Overall, in 2006, 38% of employers gave employees the day off, while 12% of large employers over 1,000 and 45% of smaller employers gave time off.

These seems unfair not only for obvious moral reasons, but also because Americans get shafted on their statutory holidays. They’re definitely on the low end of the scale when it comes to public holidays.

Seth Godin has some related thoughts, on the sadness of not observing this day, and the biases that shape our world view.

Finally, the title of this post references this song by James Taylor, which has a lovely opening but turns cheesy pretty quick. Aimee Mann covered “Shed a Little Light” on an episode of The West Wing, though she’s apparently never released the recording.