Now here's a story! I woke up bright and early this morning and drove to the SUNY Albany graduate campus to write a term paper to find, to my horror, that the library was closed!... until 1 pm.
Now that I'm back at my desk, listening to the traffic of 90 out my window, I can think about the tradition of Sunday and its wacky counterparts now.
As an observance of the lord's day, the precursor to the blue laws were the laws set forth in Puritan colonies in the 17th century. With everyone the same religion and no Constitution to be all unconstitutional at, it kinda made sense.
Looking at the blue laws which are still in affect makes me realize how traditional this society is and how hard it is to change the foundations of this country. Many states require that alcohol not be sold after a certain time. Additionally some states require that liquor stores be closed on Sunday or closed one other day of the week. Why that's still around, I don't know. I would assume that no one cared enough to really fight it and store owners may want a day off anyway. Looking at our binge-drinking youth - those kids got class on Monday, they don't want or need to drink.
I also have no idea what the deal is with the state law that requires car dealerships to be closed on Sunday. Maybe if all of them are closed, there wont be nasty evil competition envy murders.
Additionally, you can't buy or sell mattresses in Washington state on Sunday.
Super Wacky.
sincerely,
Deana Stuart
post script: Hopefully I'll be updating this more often when I'm done writing all my papers.
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