Here is the actual First
Amendment, not the one the Christian Taliban claims. I’ve bolded the relevant
parts, lest there be any confusion.
Amendment I:
Congress shall make
no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free
exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or
of the press; or the right of the people
peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of
grievances.
The latest sanctimonious tyrant seeking to use religion to
hide its agenda is the Oklahoma-based Hobby Lobby chain. Hobby Lobby calls
itself a “profit-making company… but also a ministry.” Hobby Lobby is seeking
exemption from the upcoming federal health care law that requires companies to
buy insurance that includes birth control coverage. It argues that such
coverage, especially things such as the morning-after pill, violates its
religious beliefs and is therefore a First Amendment violation. The Justice Department has challenged that
view.
If you are a fan of freedom of choice, you should be rooting
for the Feds, no matter which side of the political spectrum you claim as your
own. If Hobby Lobby wins, it will be the morality-based equivalent of the Citizens United decision in that it will
define a company as a person. Even more dangerously, it will define a collective
(the company) as a single individual,
thereby opening Pandora’s box to determine whose voice speaks for that one big
collective individual–an oxymoron is ever there was one. (Founder? CEO? CFO?
Largest stockholder?)
I’m sure there are those who would argue that owners of a
company should be able to do what they wish with their firms. I’d agree–on an individual basis. An owner can, if he
wishes, shutter the firm or sell it. If the Hobby Lobby CEO wants to buy an
insurance policy without birth control coverage for himself, fine; the First Amendment grants that right. But
listen to what Justice Department lawyer Alisa Klein says: “If you make an
exemption for the employer, it comes at the expense of the employee.” Klein’s
statement reveals the absurdity of the lawsuit. Hobby Lobby isn’t some
mom-and-pop store selling model airplanes to preadolescent boys; it’s a chain
of 500 stores in 41 states with 13,000 employees.
Klein raises an important point. What about “the people”
mentioned in the First Amendment? And what do we mean by a “company?” Is it one
or two puffed up evangelists in Oklahoma, or is it also the firm’s “people” in
the form of its 13,000 employees, its wholesalers, its investors, and its
customers? Hobby Lobby claims to be a “biblically founded business.” Yeah, so
what? It does business in the public
sphere where it must conform to all manner of public mandates such as labor laws, safety codes, building inspection
laws, and utility restrictions. Moreover, because it’s a profit-making firm, it
has no grounds to claim religion-based tax exemptions. (Remember–the Supreme
Court has already ruled that health care mandates are a form of taxation.) I suspect the ulterior motive is that
Hobby Lobby is part of the “Obamacare” Fear Squad seeking to undermine reform
so that it can foist cheaper but inferior health insurance plans on
employees.
I could be wrong about that last sentence, but true
religious freedom is where the rubber meets the road for me. If you must, let’s
take it back to the individual level. Count me among those that are fed up with
people using Jesus, Mohammed, Moses, Buddha, or anyone else to tell me what
moral decisions I should make. The
First Amendment allows you to make
decisions for you, but the moment you
tell me what I must believe, there is but one path to compelling me to comply:
have Congress pass a law that privileges that viewpoint. If you think my use of
the term “Christian Taliban” in the lead is harsh, I would reply that there’s
not an iota of moral or substantive difference between a Christian telling
Americans what they can do and the Taliban imposing Sharia law in Afghan tribal
regions under its control. What’s the moral difference between telling a woman
she must play Russian roulette with her body, or telling her she must wear a chador?
To use a line I’ve used before, I’m not against religion, but I wish to reserve the right to be against
your religion. I’m also against
companies acting tyrannically and hiding behind the First Amendment when they
do so. And what else other than tyranny should we call foisting your morality
upon 13,000 employees?
If you agree, here’s a useful first step. Contact Hobby
Lobby Customer Service and tell them you are an ex-customer until they change
their policy. Here’s the link: http://www.hobbylobby.com/customer_service/customer_service.cfm
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment