To retail chains and the customers who adore them,

Apart from your recommendation, I won't be "hurrying in", because you see, Black Friday doesn't begin on Thursday at 6:00 pm...Thanksgiving dinner begins on Thursday at 6:00 pm. Call me crazy, but maybe that's why they call it Black FRIDAY, so that Americans can maintain the integrity of the holiday and spend Thursday being thankful for what they already have. And no, being thankful for the profits you will accumulate does not count, nor does forcing employees to feel thankful for the extra cash. But how could you know that? You abandoned a federal holiday and skipped right to the unsanctioned holiday. So here's a word from those who didn't...

It does not matter when your doors opened on Thursday. The fact that they did means the sanctity of Thanksgiving has been disregarded. After all, those hoping to catch the 3:00 pm deals may have bypassed usual plans, while those anticipating the 6:00 pm sales probably cut short their time for thanks. Honestly, how many minutes were allocated towards being grateful before shoppers trampled another? As they sprinted towards that Xbox One, did they recall their words from dinner? How long did employees spend with family before their shift began? And when they arrived, did customers make clear their gratitude for the endless customer service? In a general presumption, the answer is "no". Black Friday began this year with the shooting of a father in Nevada...over a parking spot and as the day concluded, I chose to spend five minutes inside Target. Down every aisle, misery was all I saw, with bickering couples and wailing children; exhausted from a day of rigorous purchase. The only remnants of Thanksgiving were those decorations tossed aside on dusty shelves. But hey, if you hurry in, I'm sure they're thirty percent off.

Please, don't get me wrong. Shopping on Black Friday is far from a bad choice. There is precious money to be saved and the profits made on this day help keep our favorite businesses up and running. But never could these benefits justify making Black Friday a dark day.

This day was not merry and bright for that child who now sleeps fatherless, or for those employees who may wait another 364 days to see the family together again.

So please,

As you sit down for Thanksgiving dinner, think not of the sales you'll be lucky to catch, but of those you're lucky to have sitting with you at the table. Be grateful not for the money to be made, but for those employees sacrificing their holiday to make those sales possible. Be thankful that we have not just a day, but weeks, months, years, decades to remember what's really important. We should live everyday as if it's Thanksgiving. And to that, Black Friday is no exception.