January 5 is Hobby Lobby Day. If you have no clue what that means, you probably did not know about the Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day of last year either. If that is the case, let me fill you in. Both are American chain stores, and both have been subject to nasty harassment by the radical left and forces of political correctness.
The latter is a fast food restaurant chain which is owned by an unashamed Christian. He takes his faith seriously, so the stores are not open on Sundays, and he believes God’s Word when it says marriage is only between a man and a woman.
For that the militant homosexual lobby blew a gasket, and declared an all-out war against Chick-fil-A. As a counter-measure an Appreciation Day was held in August, and they broke all records with so many faithful supporters who sent a very loud message to the gaystapo that they are sick and tired of their bullying and jackboot tactics. The day was a rousing success, and we are now in great need of another one.
Hobby Lobby is a craft store chain with 500-plus stores throughout the US. The CEO is also a committed Christian, and because of his adherence to Biblical absolutes, he is refusing to bow down to the diabolical Obamacare mandate, which includes forcing businesses to promote abortion or abortifacient services.
For this the anti-Christian Obama administration has also declared war, vowing to trample the rights of any business which for conscience sake refuses to go along with this dastardly agenda. So it is war once again, and in an effort to show support for the brave and principled stance of Hobby Lobby, all Americans are urged to do mega-business with the stores on January 5.
Even though I am not into crafts too much, if I were in America I certainly would roll up and support these courageous folks who are defying the increasingly hostile BHO administration. I hope they too break all their sales records, and send a clear message to the bully Obama.
David Green, CEO of Hobby Lobby, explains his situation: “We’re Christians, and we run our business on Christian principles. I’ve always said that the first two goals of our business are 1) to run our business in harmony with God’s laws, and 2) to focus on people more than money. And that’s what we’ve tried to do. We close early so our employees can see their families at night. We keep our stores closed on Sundays, one of the week’s biggest shopping days, so that our workers and their families can enjoy a day of rest. We believe that it is by God’s grace that Hobby Lobby has endured, and he has blessed us and our employees. We’ve not only added jobs in a weak economy, we’ve also raised wages for the past four years in a row. Our full-time employees start at 80% above minimum wage.
“But now, our government threatens to change all of that. A new government health care mandate says that our family business must provide what I believe are abortion-causing drugs as part of our health insurance. Being Christians, we don’t pay for drugs that might cause abortions. Which means that we don’t cover emergency contraception, the morning-after pill or the week-after pill. We believe doing so might end a life after the moment of conception, something that is contrary to our most important beliefs. It goes against the biblical principles on which we have run this company since day one. If we refuse to comply, we could face $1.3 million per day in government fines.
“Our government threatens to fine job creators in a bad economy. Our government threatens to fine a company that’s raised wages four years running. Our government threatens to fine a family for running its business according to its beliefs. It’s not right.”
He concludes: “My family has lived the American dream. We want to continue growing our company and providing great jobs for thousands of employees, but the government is going to make that much more difficult. The government is forcing us to choose between following our faith and following the law. I say that’s a choice no American and no American business should have to make. The government cannot force you to follow laws that go against your fundamental religious belief. They have exempted thousands of companies but will not except Christian organizations including the Catholic church.”
In my book Green is a hero who deserves all the support he can get. That is why I am happy to join in solidarity with my brother, even though I am on the other side of the globe. And many others have also expressed their strong support for this champion.
Terence Jeffrey for example says this: “The Greens, who are Evangelical Christians, do not suspend their religious beliefs while running their businesses. Instead, they strive to run them fully in accordance with their Christian beliefs. They are unanimous in stating that they have always ‘sought to run Hobby Lobby in harmony with God’s laws and in a manner which brings glory to God.’ They do not have two sets of morals—one for when they are at church or at home and another for when they are working on their businesses. They have only one set of morals—that they strive to follow at work or any other activity.”
As expected, the secular left activists absolutely hate Green and his stores, and are waging their own war of lies and deception against them. Kimberly Morin deals with many of these:
“LIE: Hobby Lobby is forcing their religious beliefs onto their employees.
FACT: Hobby Lobby is not forcing their beliefs onto anyone. They are simply against Obama forcing them to go against their own beliefs and the beliefs their corporation is run on.
LIE: Hobby Lobby is denying women basic access to health care.
FACT: The ‘Plan B’ pill is not basic health care. It is a pill that some women choose to use after having unprotected sex or if they believe they may have gotten pregnant (after choosing to have sex) and do not want to have a baby. Leftists believe that women are too weak minded, ignorant and dependent on men that they are incapable of going to the pharmacy to purchase the Plan B pill for their own selves all on their own (they can even buy it online).”
Her entire column is well worth reading. Finally, Reid Guy says this: “This story amazes me for a couple reasons. First, the idea that we still have companies and individuals that will not sacrifice their ideals and beliefs for a single dollar is awesome. The owners of Hobby Lobby say they will choose to lose an unprecedented amount of money, instead of going against their values. When our society puts so much emphasis on the value of a dollar, this company is willing to potentially lose it all.
“The second and most important issue that I have with this story, is the fact, that Barack Obama, Congress, and the courts, can just ignore our freedom of religion that is granted to us through the United States Constitution. The first line of the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights reads, ‘Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.’
“This tells me that those that govern our land will go to any extent to completely ignore any freedoms that we have. There are many pro-abortionists that are celebrating the mandate and the recent rulings against Hobby Lobby, but this ignorance of the law is just as important to them also. If a government can strip away a sacred right as our freedom of religion, they can eventually strip away their rights of freedom of speech or the press. What if the government forced them to participate in activities that they stand against? If Hobby Lobby loses, we all lose.”
Exactly right. Religious freedom and freedom of conscience are far too valuable to just sit by as they are inexorably chewed up by Big Government. This is an immensely important battle, and I urge every single American reading this to visit Hobby Lobby on January 5 and spend up big time. The Greens deserve all the help and support we can give them.
And please keep them in your prayers. This is a real David versus Goliath battle, and I for one hope that many of these Davids will stand up and be counted, and land telling blows on the derelict and increasingly dangerous Obama administration.
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/opinion/forum/story/2012-09-12/hhs-mandate-birth-control-sue-hobby-lobby/57759226/1
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/obama-administration-we-can-and-will-force-christians-act-against-their-faith
http://www.examiner.com/article/leftist-lies-and-hysteria-about-hobby-lobby?cid=db_articles
http://truevalueexperience.org/2012/12/28/hobby-lobby-standing-on-principle-no-matter-the-cost/
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