Today was an interesting morning. I woke up, folded laundry, and hunted around for some workout clothes to wear to the gym. Most of them are in dire need of the washing machine, although I suppose this is not a bad thing- working hard, and all that. Today was not a lot different, as I was on my way to the gym. Breakfast consisted of a Powerbar and coffee, as I wasn't really that hungry. So off I went. (Told you I have a dull life...) When I got to the gym, I noticed a whole bunch of basic trainees in formation. Interesting, I thought. What are they doing here? Should I go to another gym, as they've reserved this one for some function? It turned out that they were there for a church service! The usual place the service was held, (I think it was over in the theater on post) was being used for something else. The gym has a large basketball court with bleachers, so this would obviously make a good place to fit a lot of people. Okay, not a problem! I certainly don't want to interfere with anyone's Sunday, or church-going. So as long as I can work out, I guess no problem there. And it wasn't. There was music coming from the basketball court, kind of tent-revival type stuff. It was kind of cool, in a way, lifting weights while next door a religious service was going on. I had a less than charitable thought, too- would someone come and complain that their sensibilities were offended? I'm not a Christian, so why should I be forced to hear Christian music? Personally, I could give a crap less, in fact it was somewhat enjoyable. If the Church gives you solace and support, who am I to tell you you're wrong? But in the civilian world I could see this happening- it seems in some cases people go a little too far. It seems to me that yes, you have a right not to be forced to participate in religious or civil functions you do not support. So don't! Other people have a right to assemble peacefully and do what they choose to do. If they do so in a public place, then they are well within their rights.
In some ways this reminds me of the new boycott of Target. Having worked there, on the corporate level, it's an OK place to work. (On the local management level, they don't know their asses from a hole in the ground, but that's another story). The story goes thus- civil rights groups are up in arms due to the fact that Target supported some conservative group. Okay, with you so far. The same thing went down with Disney, who pretty much did discriminate against couples of the same sex. However, it's not that simple. Target has, and continues, to treat same-sex couples the same as anyone else in terms of extending health insurance and benefits to spouses.
Stop and look at this from a business perspective- would it not be in the best interests of the company as a whole to offer benefits to its employees? After all, health insurance generally will mean healthy employees, and hopefully by extension happy employees. This is good for the company- sick employees tend to miss work, which means lost productivity. And everyone knows happy employees are more productive. If they're not stressing about health insurance and bills, they'll be more focused on their jobs. Besides, it means they'll be more likely to stay with the company as well.
But back to the topic at hand. Keep in mind that any company is only as good as its employees, (a fact definitely forgotten during my own period of employment with Target). Now, keep in mind also that a company will act in its own best interest- that is rarely if ever not in the interest of its employees, by extension, although it seems this fact is often forgotten, to the detriment of the company. But keep in mind also, the company is a business entity- it's there to make money. Thus Target's decision to support whatever conservative group it was. The article on this I read spelled out that this was a business decision, not a political one. In other words, it was in the best interest of the company to support this particular group to increase their profit. Personally, I don't agree with political lobbying, I think it's destroyed and shamed what could have been an otherwise great system of government. However, no one is exactly smelling like a rose in this. I don't agree with supporting lobbyists at all, which is what I think has happened here. But can Target, a corporation, be blamed for acting in its own best interests? Despite a good track record as far as civil rights are concerned, one move like that and it's time to break out the torches and pitchforks. Hopefully Sarah Palin isn't contagious, as this kind of thin-skinned complaining is all too common in the world today. True, we should live in an utopian society, and the only thing standing in the way of that is ourselves. However, a part of this is sacrifice, (in this case a seeming small one) for the greater good of all. This is not always so clear, but my own philosophy on this has been do the best you can, and hope for the best results.
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