Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

"The right to hold religious beliefs and to act in keeping with one's faith, is being set against the right not to be offended, and is losing." This quote is from an article in The Telegraph (London) concerning the court case of the owners of a bed and breakfast who refuse to rent rooms to unmarried couples. Why should they not be allowed to rent rooms as they desire? Why do the courts feel the need to be involved in such business decisions? If you do not like the policies of a certain business, don't frequent them. Tell your friends not to go there. Affect their bottom line, but don't bring the courts into it.

This reminds me of the posts I have been seeing on Facebook concerning Chik-fil-A and their "ties to fundamentalist, anti-gay groups". If you don't like the groups that a company gives their money to, buy your chicken elsewhere. No one is forcing you to eat at Chik-fil-A or stay at a particular bed and breakfast. No one makes you buy certain magazines or watch particular movies. Don't give your freedom to choose over to the government.

We do not send our children to public school. Some of the things taught there are offensive to our family. That means that we must make other arrangements. We might have to suffer a bit of inconvenience in order to avoid the things that offend, but we are okay with that. It is the price we pay to live in a free society. Not everyone is going to agree with how you do everything. It is our right to pick and choose. I'd like very much to keep that right. Wouldn't you.

Just in case you are wondering about the British couple with the B&B, they lost the case and are planning to close their establishment rather than go against their beliefs. Way to go. Another couple(at least) out of work.