This is a first for me, as I have never used my blog as a political platform (nor do I intend to in the future). When I woke up this morning, though, and saw what was trending for me, I felt led to share my personal views.
Over the last year there has been more and more unwillingness to let ANY person (let alone celebrity) keep their personal beliefs without causing some sort of fight, or demand that a job be taken away. Last checked, that is a form of witch hunt, and should not be tolerated in the United State of America where we are supposed to have a huge, long list of freedoms - I won't even get started on the 2nd Amendment and the bashing it has received. That would be a whole other blog post in its own right.
How is it that we are so afraid to let any one person, or group of people, actually have religious freedom, and freedom of speech? We are okay with it whenever it is a group that is in the mainstream's eye, which is telling us that yes, this group is the one to support and back. Guess what, that doesn't work for me! I do not need the media, my friends, family, or person on the corner to tell me that one person is allowed to have an opinion whilst the other is not. Shame on you, society, for allowing things to spin so stupidly out of control that you have blinded yourselves and become as hypocritical as those you protest!
The Robertson's came under attack last year for answering a question honestly (it also happened to the Benham brothers as well, who did not have enough of a public following to receive support). I do not care if any of you agree or disagree with their stance, they are allowed to have it. By law, they are allowed to have it. And I think they were fairly courageous for sharing an opinion knowing they would be slammed by the media and its loyal followers (which I am apparently one as I actually read the "trending" section in Facebook, so yes I'm including myself in this). Besides, isn't there some sort of law that protects people from work place discrimination? And, if memory serves me right, doesn't freedom from religious persecution fall under the umbrella in the protection from work place discrimination?
This has gone beyond the Robertson's to now being a legal battle fought by many around America. And, while I personally believe ALL people should be serviced in a company regardless of gender, sexuality, race, religion, etc (I do not hold that same belief for a church, though, or for anyone holding any form of religious ceremony. Not in the same ballgame at all, to me). I do also believe in the rights of a business owner. It's wrong, in my own opinion, to pour out blood, sweat, and tears only to be told by the government what you can and can't do when it comes to your own clientele. If customers don't like how business is being conducted, then take your own business elsewhere. Makes for good, ethical business all the way around.
Another who comes to mind is Donald Sterling, former owner of the LA Clippers. The man had, unfortunately, shared his views on race that were incredibly wrong. Views I do not share one iota of. Does that mean he isn't allowed to have them, though? Shouldn't he be allowed to keep his team regardless of what formulated in his mind and came out of his mouth? How can a personal stance be used against any one person to prevent them from owning something, or having gainful employment? Again, I do not agree with any of his views, but it saddens me that we have become so hateful in our own society, that we are unable to exist with those we disagree with. And, not that his opinion validates mine any further, Dave Chappelle even agrees and has made a public statement two days ago stating that this team should not have been taken from him over person viewpoints.
Now, the new celebrity under fire is the entire Duggar clan. The Duggars have been on TLC for years and have promoted their own Christian values from the very start. I do not personally believe in everything they promote (especially the first kiss being for the wedding day, that is odd to me, but to each their own). Over the last year, more and more people have become upset with the Duggars views on abortion, marriage (in that it happens at such a young age, and how the courtship is conducted... Which, again, I semi agree that how they do things is not my personal cup of tea), and now homosexuality. Busy family in making so many people angry this year!
I am not a regular viewer of 19 Kids and Counting - when I'm board I will watch an episode or two on Netflix, and I will admit I am excited to watch the wedding episodes because I'm a sucker for weddings. Seeing this family slammed, though, and a high demand that they lose their jobs because they promote on their personal site (personal, not TLC's site) their own beliefs has made me angry. I do not agree with them on everything, and feel that their call to having married couples post a kiss to have been tasteless (for the record, I share their stance on marriage being between a man and a woman. Everyone who knows me knows that, and I will not defend/argue it). Definitely a call that should have been skipped since it went beyond just sharing what they felt. In saying that, though, it's their own personal right to make what I feel are bad decisions, and to take a stand for what the gospel says. Stand down, and let the family be whether you agree with them or not. If this was a family down the street in your own neighborhood, having these conversations with friends, none of us would expend a huge amount of energy on it. We wouldn't be protesting at their local jobs for them to be fired, so why is it okay for celebrities?
Personally, I do not believe in the Department of Education, I don't like the direction public school is headed, I don't like the attitude from those in education about those who homeschool, and I have relatively conservative viewpoints outside of that. I work for a school district. Almost all of my beliefs should, if logic made sense to fire these other people, give me a pink slip and a butt kick out the door. I'm good at my job, though, and have a passion to bring to the table different angles to help children learn. So... If I can hold my personal beliefs (so long as I do not post them in affiliation with my school district) and not be jobless, why does it not hold true for others?
I am not saying a company isn't allowed to fire someone. I am not even saying that a company has no rights to make decisions on the message they want coming from said company. What I am saying is that if those sentiments are not shared on the show the company is paying for, and those sentiments/beliefs are being spread on personal time, why should any of us give one darn about it other than to make a personal decision on whether or not we continue to tune in week after week?
Whether you share their beliefs or not, please sign this petition in support of freedom of though, freedom of speech, and freedom of religion.
Thank you for reading my rant, we will now return to the normal mommy blogging content :)
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