Saturday, July 5, 2014

Crazed over Colombia, Crafts, Contraceptives, and Courts



Honestly, I could really care less about soccer and the World Cup. I know virtually nothing about the rules or the players. And yet, I found myself yelling at a giant, flat screen in support of my Colombian friend who invited us to watch a game. It wasn’t like I didn’t have other things to do, but eventually, a Colombia rubber bracelet was around my fist pumping in the air.

Some people would consider it unnecessary anxiety, which justifies moderating our involvement.  How we do that can be tricky, though. When we feel the hype is uncalled-for for ourselves, sometimes we mistakably chip a piece out of another person by poo-pooing the whole thing. When I think about it for half-a-second, I realize when I say, “Who cares?” I'm really saying, “I don’t care. Why does anyone care?” Chink-chink. 

In the midst of unmerited caring about who's winning in the quarter-finals, I found myself caught up in who’s against whom involving a craft store and contraceptives. But this time, the stir about them had me in a personal whirlwind. 

Hobby Lobby won an appeal concerning four contraceptives (out of twenty). Why do I care? I'm not planning on using contraceptives anytime soon or interested in working for Hobby Lobby. I also would love not paying for things that violated my beliefs. On top of that, I had many qualms regarding the way the healthcare act was implemented (2,000+pages worth). Plus, this was (supposed) to be a very narrow incident, regarding only four contraceptives. I also get nobody wants the impositions from the other. The religious conservatives do not want their values encroached on, especially by the government, while the rest do not want their lives infringed upon by any particular religious belief. 

Now that the spinning has slowed, I recognize more clearly why I was so emotionally discombobulated about these two innocuous things concerning my life. If only this could narrow down to a sportsmanlike finale, as one's win is the other's loss. But unlike my Colombian friend the morning after the game, only showing spurts of disappointment, I was still left agitated.

When a company is entitled to act as an individual with religious views, it opens up various corporate religions

Regardless of this “only being about four contraceptives," each smaller company now has the right to weed out what parts they, too, are religiously opposed to. Indeed, only one day after the HL ruling, the Supreme Court ordered: “lower courts to rehear any cases where companies had sought to deny coverage for any type of contraception, not just the specific types Hobby Lobby was opposed to.”

I understand business owners’ plight against the intrusion of the governing laws. I get it. I understand they were forced to pay for something they strongly disagreed with on their Christian principles. 

It makes me wonder, though, at the kinds of religious ills against the Jews infringed by Caesar when Jesus told them they still ought to pay their taxes. And yet, all of us have to deal and pay our taxes, which include funding similar contraceptives that HL are now free of. But we don't get to pick and choose unless we are a small business.

Speaking of choosing, some are suggesting one doesn't have to choose to work there, implying, "Unless you work there, why do you care?" Unintentionally, this assumes a small business interview should include the topic of religion in order to know if one wants to work somewhere or not. Furthermore, most conservatives don't support businesses having the right to fund campaigns as an individual. Principally, then, why defend a business to have individual religious beliefs?

But none of that is quite what's really bothering me. 

It's not about women's rights or contraceptives, businesses and religionMore or less, it's the idea of the reader who thinks I'm blowing this out of proportion. 

It has more to do with the chinks to my being when my friends inadvertently downplay the bigger picture as a trivial win/lose scenario. 

If it doesn't bother them, why should it bother anybody else? (Cachink-Cachink) 

Despite some of my conservative views, I identify with a minority group that still struggles against judgment on the basis of “religious freedom,” a religion I also identify with, which makes it even more discouraging. While our LGBTQ lives are continuously seen as insulting and affronting to these certain "religious freedoms", I also see friends on both political sides dismiss this with flippant comments about four contraceptives. 

Unfortunately, these situations raised by Hobby Lobby via the Supreme Court highlight and underscore how double-sided tape, obviously or not, affects me personally. Ok, forget about the tape, it's really hard to separate someone simply eating a Chick-fil-a sandwich without offending me rather than it just being something they actually like. 

Call me naive, but I do believe we all just want to work, shop, and eat without thinking about somebody else's convictions. But the Supreme Court has left me queasy by featuring contraceptives as a side dish with a morally charged lunch I thought I could enjoy while working on my arts and crafts.  

Maybe I am crazy for being caught in the frenzy over crafts and contraceptives, but it stirs similar sentiments regarding wedding cakes, flower shops, and equal signs. And while spiraling amidst cheers and offhanded comments, I'm stunned at the silence when it comes to defending my personal freedoms. 













2 comments:

  1. Thank you, Emiko. I believe I lost most of my "Christian" "friends" when I began to ask questions out loud. Anything contrary to their sliver of Christianity could not possibly be true and was not to be discussed. I was just supposed to step back into the herd even if I thought it was going the wrong way. I observed things I considered to be manipulation and since I was having issues participating, I had a problem with how God was working. I made wrong friends and had wrong priorities. I have since left that fellowship. No one from it has gotten in touch with me to see how I am doing. I can count on one hand the Christians who have checked in on me.

    My mom used to say, "God gave you a brain. Use it!". That can get one into some very lonely places.

    -Terri, your former MA training partner

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sadly, Terri, yes, I also feel your pain at the silence of some "friends". I'm sure there are different reasons for each of them, but it hurts nonetheless.
    For some reason questions appear to be threatening... And if that is the case, it goes to reason why some people wouldn't want to stay if they have to check their critical thinking at the door, or anything that challenged the other POV.
    I'm sorry for your loss of community. It is deeply painful, I know. I hope you are building a new community of friends who encourage you.
    With that, feel free to broach any questions with me. I love discussions :)

    PS. I miss those training days :) I could use some good sparring!

    ReplyDelete

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