The McDonald's Corporation, pushers of the diet that's helped to make Americans fat, is now out to make a large segment of said population madder than a stepped-on hornets nest.
Seems that Mickey D's thinks that if you oppose something for religious reasons, you MUST be a hatemonger.
In this case, that "something" is homosexuality.
Before I wade deeper into what promises to be very treacherous territory, let me state for the record three things: One, I am a professed Christian. Two, I do not now feel nor have I ever felt anything remotely akin to hatred for anyone unless they were involved in the purposeful abuse of a child, an elderly person or an animal. If the barbarian happened to be homosexual, that was irrelevent. Three, I prefer a partner of the opposite sex and hope each of my children will, too. (Again, because our family is the thing noted in No. 1 of this list and not because I liken an alternative lifestyle to, say, bubonic plague.)
Because of No. 1 I consult the Bible frequently and make every effort to apply its teachings. I don't expect everyone else to do this because Everyone Else consists of many religious traditions.
To ask me to adopt, embrace, or otherwise promote something that my guidebook specifically prohibits (and yes, it DOES speak against homosexual behavior, contrary to what some revisionists would like to think) is like asking a devout Muslim to not face Mecca when praying or asking a devout Jew to not eat kosher.
So, does this mean I hate homosexuals? No, it does not. The Bible says the behavior is wrong, it does NOT say we are to hate those who engage in it. Ergo, I don't.
Does this mean a devout Muslim has something against Paris or Morocco or Buenos Aires? Nope.
Does it mean the devout Jew despises the companies that don't certify their foods as kosher? I hardly think so.
So to put it plainly, expecting practicing Christians to agree to something their religion specifically prohibits and then expressing surprise and disdain when they don't is just pretty damn ignorant.
What's started this whole flap is a $20K donation by MD's to the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce in exhange for a seat on the group's board of directors. One of MD's hotshot corporate officers is also reportedly gay. The NGLCC lobbies Congress on various issues including that of same-sex marriage.
The conservative Christian American Family Assoc. (AFA) protests the deal and has called for a boycott of the company.
Referring to the AFA boycott, McDonald's corporate spokesman Bill Whitman has been quoted by the Wash. Post as saying "hatred has no place in our culture."
What Whitman either fails to understand or chooses to ignore is that AFA is NOT lobbying for the mistreatment of gays, nor is it asking MD's to not hire gays. It is asking the company to remain neutral on The Homosexual Issue by not playing footsie under the table with a gay rights lobbying organization.
But I think the AFA is mistaken in this instance. It thinks McDonald's actually cares about gay people. I think McDonald's actually cares about money and the more of it the better. It can't be neutral on the issue of homosexuality because homosxuality is not its focus in the first place. Profit is.
There's no shame in making money. This is America, after all, and capitalism is the name of the game.
No, the shame lies in the fact that Christians who choose to oppose the company's decision are branded as haters for nothing more than refusing to try to reconcile what, according to the word of their God, cannot be reconciled.
I hope the McDonald's Corp. has calculated its future earnings carefully, allowing for the loss of profit as Christians choose to take their business elsewhere. That $20K may just prove to be the worst investment the company has ever made.
In the interest of journalistic integrity and full disclosure, readers should note that I am a vegetarian (no, this doesn't mean I HATE meat-eaters, but I do HATE the fact that I even feel compelled to make such a silly disclaimer) and thus do little to no business with McDonald's. I do like their vanilla shakes, but in the interest of my waistline I choose to refrain from those as much as possible. It's got nothing to do with religion and everything to do with common sense.)
No comments:
Post a Comment