Google's Silence

Sure, this country's messed up in countless ways. There are plenty of reasons when traveling abroad to pretend you're from Canada; like the preservation of your physical well-being and the opportunity to avoid political conversations and arguments you have no chance of winning. You might even be ashamed to be an American these days, even if your immigrant parents brought you here to give you a better life than you had in, I don't know, say the power seat of the old Soviet Empire. You may have gone to a top-rated school in California and later became fabulously wealthy beyond your wildest dreams after setting up business here - and yet you still may feel like you just aren't "home."

Today is not supposed to be a grim downer. It's called Memorial Day. That means you are simply mindful. Maybe you pause for half a minute to think about people who perished in order to allow you to enjoy what you have and what you can achieve. Sort of like we do on MLK Day. It doesn't mean you wear a black armband. It doesn't mean you eschew fun on your day off. It doesn't even mean you have to be patriotic. It just means "remember." Ten seconds when you see a flag. You might even alter your world-famous logo for 24 hours, like you have for MLK Day, St. George's Day, Independence Day, Earth Day, St. Patrick's Day and other not-so-notable days every year for the last 8 years.

I've received these comments (among many) on my previous post about Google's refusal to acknowledge Memorial Day:

• Just because you don't honor them doesnt mean you dishonor them.... its like the 'youre either for the war or against the troops' argument.
• Mabye Google thinks this is respecting the dead, not turning Memorial day into just another holiday with a cheap logo.
• Uh, no offence, but if Google went around honouring the war dead in every country they operate in, they would probably have a different logo everyday.

The fact is that Google (an American public corporation) claims they can't do a Memorial Day logo because, "We wouldn’t want to create a graphic that could be interpreted as disrespectful in any way," which is why I gave them the free idea at the top of this post. Respectful and simple. The logos they do on serious days, like MLK Day, are not "cheap," but reverent.

Thanks, Google, for showing your true colors. Your arguments were hollow and your inaction quite loud.