Monday, June 30, 2014

Free to Believe

     Considering today, the momentous and historical Supreme Court Decision involving Hobby Lobby and contraception, and the wild array and ends of the spectrum comments/tweets/posts regarding this decision, I’d like to say this:
     If you would like your employer to pay for your “emergency contraception” or “morning after pill” or “week after pill” then in America you are free to work for a company that is not in conflict with providing those to you. If we want the freedom to participate in the use of this type of (religiously controversial) birth control, then we also have to allow others the freedom to NOT participate in the use of it. It goes both ways.
     As in all our life choices – work for, associate with, socialize with, spend your life with those who share your beliefs. In America, we are free to choose and practice what we believe – as long as it does not harm another – and we have the right to NOT be ridiculed nor injured for (safely) practicing those beliefs.
     Hobby Lobby is an openly Christian, family owned and run business, conscientiously trying to put into practice what they believe.  It has been documented that they are good to, and provide very good benefits for their employees, including much better than average beginning pay.  And they do willingly provide common birth control – what they object to is “emergency contraception” such as the morning after pill and the week after pill, because the results of using them would conflict with their spiritual beliefs on abortion.  They provide numerous local charity benefits in the communities surrounding each of their stores, and close early during the week and are closed on Sundays so that their employees can have more family time.
What I would like to know is this:
1).  If a person has such differing views/beliefs than a place of business, so much so that it causes conflict within said person, why would this person want to work in this business? Wouldn’t it be better for them personally to obtain employment in a business they are more comfortable with?
2).  Why would anyone want to boycott and make flounder one of the few businesses today that provides so much good for their employees and communities, one that gives back and truly cares about them? And all because this business doesn’t believe it should provide an emergency abortion pill free of charge?  This makes no sense to me.
How about you?