I want to state from the outset that this is not my original idea and that I’ve heard several people mention it before. But if this column can serve as even the tiniest platform for the idea – I feel obligated to say my peace.
It also seems to me that in the shadow of recently celebrating Veterans Day, the idea feels even stronger.
So here goes …
The United States should enshrine a new holiday to honor and celebrate our first responders.
And let’s use Veterans Day as a guide.
As a nation, we created Veterans Day for three reasons:
• To honor men and women who keep us safe
• To honor men and women who sacrifice so much for others
• To honor men and women who run toward danger
Indeed, our veterans do these things and it is our obligation to give them the respect of a national holiday to call their very own.
But, isn’t there another group of Americans who do the exact same things that we celebrate veterans for, and they do them in every town and every big city in America?
I’d argue yes. Police, fire, EMTs, and emergency room personnel keep us safe, sacrifice so much for others and run toward danger.
Taking nothing at all from veterans, but how many of us have been saved, helped, or even influenced by a soldier, sailor or airman? Their work is on behalf of a nation, often far away.
First responders, however, work on behalf of individuals here in our community.
First-hand perspective
I was severely injured this summer. First responders got to my broken body within minutes of my accident. First responders both drove and flew me to PeaceHealth in Springfield. Emergency room doctors and nurses stabilized me, and – during an emergency procedure where my lung cavity filled with blood – saved my life.
And that was just me.
What about the drama that plays out every day in every corner of our community?
The police who administer first aid after we collide with another vehicle. The firefighters who pull us from the burning car accident. The paramedics who keep us stable and transport us to the hospital. The emergency room team that puts us back together.
Don’t they deserve a day of their own?
And not just an official First Responders Day. After all, we already have that. It was Oct. 28 this year, in case it slipped by you as it did me. I didn’t even know there was such a day until I Googled it. Did you do anything to celebrate first responders? Me neither. No, they richly deserve an actual holiday like Veterans Day with the day off for most people.
Of course, the irony is that many first responders wouldn’t even get their own holiday off – as so many of them have to work holidays. Still, it would be a great start.
So, what do you say? Might it be time for a letter or email to our congressional delegation to ask for this national holiday? In our deeply divided nation and community, couldn’t a federal holiday for first responders be one of the most truly bipartisan efforts we could all get behind?
I think it might just be.
Michael Dunne is a contributing writer for The Chronicle and a radio host and journalist on KLCC. Reach Dunne at [email protected]
