Movement

Lalaith has posted a few things over on Untwisting again. I figured I should get them taken care of BEFORE I have a newborn. =) (Any day now!)

So first up: Wet and Wild (That's a nail polish brand and a joke.)

There's not really a whole lot here. It was an interesting bit about some of the odder claims of differing religions, but the argument is basically this: "Because all these religions have some seemingly ridiculous claims, they must all be equally ridiculous." Sure, it's an interesting thing to think about, but like that commercial is so fond of pointing out: "It's only weird if it doesn't work." In other words, it's only ridiculous to say that Balaam's donkey spoke to him if the donkey DIDN'T actually speak to him. It's only ridiculous to say that chickens can't fly if, in fact, chickens CAN fly.

So really, it's just kind of a think about it thing, which personally, I'm all for thinking things through. It really wouldn't be smart, if you're speaking to someone of a different religion to start bashing their beliefs or their mental capabilities in light of those beliefs. That's just not gracious and I'm pretty sure that EVERYONE has SOME belief that's ridiculous - check out those commercials some more and see how superstitious people get for the sake of their sports. So advice accepted - don't worry yourself over the weirder parts of someone else's religion. Everyone has weird beliefs.

Moving right along: Gay Rights in the Work Place

I was expecting a little bit more from the clip, but whatever. So here's the thing about this particular issue. Freedom for a company means freedom to discriminate - between whoever and whatever they want. They shouldn't be forced to buy equally from different suppliers/factories; and they shouldn't be forced to have a certain number of both genders, of different races, of different sexual orientations. That's not freedom. If I OWN something, that means I have control over it. So if the government says that I can't limit who I want to hire to these specific things, then really, it's the government who owns it - I'm just managing it.

Now, don't get me wrong here. I'm not saying that there is something morally wrong with that. My point is that, currently, that's not the way our country operates. It's slowly taking control of things more and more; but the fact that this issue is coming up is proof that right now, that's not how things are (at least in whichever state it was where that pastor spoke).

I'm not morally obligated to pay different people the same amount for the same job. I'm morally obligated to keep whatever deal I make with each person. I'm not morally obligated to treat people equally; I'm morally obligated to treat people lovingly. Fair does not mean equal; it means just. Equal treatment is often very unjust because people are not equal (if we were, we'd be clones).

Personally, I don't see this as a moral issue; this is a freedom issue. Giving up freedom is not morally wrong. Keeping freedom is not morally wrong. I like my freedom. If I had a vote there, I would vote against such a proposal - not because it's going to ruin the nation or something - because I think it's my right to hire or not hire people based on whatever I want. Age, race, height, gender, sexual orientation, etc. It's MY business; they work FOR ME. So I should get to decide. BUT, if the government says, "Uh uh. Now I get to decide." Then, that freedom isn't mine anymore, and I'm a law-breaker if I ignore that. And breaking the law IS a moral issue.

Freedom is not the problem; the problem is sin, and laws can't fix that problem.