Thursday, July 3, 2014

Do What You Want, but Get Out of Your Armchair.

A business should be a representation of the people who own it and run it.

If the people who own and run a business are Christian, then I would expect that that company's mission and way of doing business would reflect Christian values. Not unlike, if a business were run or owned by a Hindu family, I would expect that business's mission and vision to demonstrate Hindu values. Not unlike if a business were owned and run by devout cultists, said business would reflect the beliefs and practices of said cult. (That link is to one of the best pieces of satire I've seen in a long time.)

In other words, our religion or lack thereof does affect everything we do. I'm not going to get into the hypocrisy of how some people claim to be Christians but then do unChristian things ... or how some people claim to be Atheists but then go to church on Christmas ... or how ... WE'RE ALL HYPOCRITES on SOME LEVEL. Because we are. I am. You are. EVERYONE. That's the one damn thing we all have in common. Some of us are bigger hypocrites than others, but we all make decisions that go against our core beliefs from time to time.

My business is a reflection of me and a big part of me is my spirituality and belief in GOD and love for JESUS and for LIFE and the UNIVERSE and for LOVE itself. One of my favorite book on leadership is Lead Like Jesus by Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges. The teachings in this book can be applied in the classroom and in business, without proselytizing or turning people off to my faith because essentially it promotes leading through serving. Leading by example is pretty much the only evangelizing I'm comfortable with giving AND receiving. I can tell much more by what you do than by what you say.

So, OF COURSE, I believe that business owners CAN make decisions based on their beliefs. It is when businesses make decisions and use their religion as an EXCUSE to do something unethical that it really gets under my skin. If Hobby Lobby wants to NOT fund certain forms of its female employees' healthcare, then that is their choice, but don't make it about religion. (They know they HAVE to make it about religion because it's the only loophole they could find.)

They are claiming it's because the four types of birth control that they are choosing to not cover cause abortions--something that most Christian organizations generally oppose. However, THAT'S NOT TRUE: Three of the four types of birth control that they are NOT covering stop ovulation, which makes fertilization impossible. One of the types of birth control, if implanted after fertilization, stops a fertilized egg from implanting. That does not fit the medical definition of abortion. It doesn't fit my personal definition either. All that IUD does is prevent a pregnancy from occurring.

Medical definitions aside, I realize that some people view a fertilized egg as a baby and so therefore they may view that type of device as abortifacient. Let's venture into the realm of the hypothetical.

Your beloved female someone (aunt, mom, daughter, sister, friend) is employed by Hobby Lobby (or the hundreds of other businesses who will use the recent decision to remove certain healthcare options--mostly from women) and she is raped. TERRIBLE. HORRIBLE. SITUATION. She is potentially pregnant. She doesn't know. Hormones do bad things to her. She knows this from experience. Because of this, she opts for the non-hormonal copper IUD, which will make it impossible for the potentially fertilized egg that she is carrying inside of her (made up of 50% rapist's DNA) to implant. She should have this option. There are some fates worse than death. Then again, maybe she chooses to wait and see if she is pregnant. Maybe she ends up being pregnant and goes through with the pregnancy. The point is--it's HER choice--not her employer's.

And the idea that vasectomies and Viagra (Vi-GAG-ra) are still covered is just ... gross, and I'm sure that there are some religious implications here, but bottom line: If it's good for the goose; it's good for the gander.

If you want to make decisions based on your religion, then do, but don't cherry pick what you will and will not do in the name of your religion and DON'T use your religion to hurt women. Know that just like you ... you corporate "person" you ... I (flesh and blood person, here!) have the ability to make my own decisions based on my own personal beliefs, and I plan on exercising those rights when I choose where to shop. I plan on voicing my opinion via social media and in correspondence with my representatives.

I encourage anyone who believes in something to get out of your armchair and do something about it.