"Here's what happens when you order a gay wedding cake at a Muslim bakery (Cassini 2015)."
A couple in Oregon are being sued for emotional suffering, after they refused to bake a wedding cake for a lesbian couple (Roth 2015).
I don't know if anyone has noticed, but the two stories above are the same issue. The difference is which people the government decided should have to sacrifice their culture and which shouldn't.
In the first story, although the bakeries were slandered all over social media, the owners were allowed to follow the beliefs of the culture into which they had been born. People stood for them, because they were immigrants and we, as Americans, should respect the mixing of cultures that makes this nation great.
We're all immigrants, event the nations that call themselves "natives" have descended from the first settlers that traveled over the land bridge from Asia (Elias 2014). The uniqueness of the United States of America lies in the fact that, although most Americans stem from generations of Americans, most of us also all identify with the original cultures from which our ancestors came.
A couple in Oregon are being sued for emotional suffering, after they refused to bake a wedding cake for a lesbian couple (Roth 2015).
I don't know if anyone has noticed, but the two stories above are the same issue. The difference is which people the government decided should have to sacrifice their culture and which shouldn't.
In the first story, although the bakeries were slandered all over social media, the owners were allowed to follow the beliefs of the culture into which they had been born. People stood for them, because they were immigrants and we, as Americans, should respect the mixing of cultures that makes this nation great.
We're all immigrants, event the nations that call themselves "natives" have descended from the first settlers that traveled over the land bridge from Asia (Elias 2014). The uniqueness of the United States of America lies in the fact that, although most Americans stem from generations of Americans, most of us also all identify with the original cultures from which our ancestors came.
I can tell you that the peoples of other countries don't identify with their ancestral cultures the way we do. I certainly got some odd looks, in Australia, when I instinctively said I was part German and part English. That's not how the citizens of other countries describe themselves. Australians are "Australian." Germans are "German." And, I have to admit, it felt odd to me, describing myself as "American."
I am American, though. I'm also a Christian, a woman, a scientist, and many other things that defy labels (according to my family, ha ha ha).
I'm also offended.......offended that the government takes it upon itself to determine which cultures should be honored and which should change to suit the assembled masses. Why does the government get to determine that the Muslim immigrants have the right to be true to their culture, but the conservative Christians must relinquish their culture in favor of non- discrimination? Why is the belief that all people have the right to love each other more important than the belief that marriage should be between a man and a woman?
When congress decides to take the Ten Commandments out of schools, I understand. It makes me sad, but I understand. The monies of all taxpayers provide for the schools, so an effort should be made to make them as welcoming to all cultures as possible. However, the government wasn't supplying flour to the Oregon bakery; they didn't even have shareholders. So, why should the courts step in and say that they must be held accountable for their discriminatory business practices? I'm not even sure why the couple ordering the cake would want to patronize a business whose owners had a belief system so contrary to their own. Are there no bakeries in Oregon that would accept their wedding cake business?
I know what you're going to say, "It's the principle of the matter."
In that point, we agree. The principle is respect for all beliefs and cultures, and that means respecting the discriminating beliefs of conservative Christians right along with respecting the choices of two women who decide to commit themselves to each other for life.
I am American, though. I'm also a Christian, a woman, a scientist, and many other things that defy labels (according to my family, ha ha ha).
I'm also offended.......offended that the government takes it upon itself to determine which cultures should be honored and which should change to suit the assembled masses. Why does the government get to determine that the Muslim immigrants have the right to be true to their culture, but the conservative Christians must relinquish their culture in favor of non- discrimination? Why is the belief that all people have the right to love each other more important than the belief that marriage should be between a man and a woman?
When congress decides to take the Ten Commandments out of schools, I understand. It makes me sad, but I understand. The monies of all taxpayers provide for the schools, so an effort should be made to make them as welcoming to all cultures as possible. However, the government wasn't supplying flour to the Oregon bakery; they didn't even have shareholders. So, why should the courts step in and say that they must be held accountable for their discriminatory business practices? I'm not even sure why the couple ordering the cake would want to patronize a business whose owners had a belief system so contrary to their own. Are there no bakeries in Oregon that would accept their wedding cake business?
I know what you're going to say, "It's the principle of the matter."
In that point, we agree. The principle is respect for all beliefs and cultures, and that means respecting the discriminating beliefs of conservative Christians right along with respecting the choices of two women who decide to commit themselves to each other for life.
References
Cassini, G. 2015. Hidden camera: Here's what happens when you order a gay wedding cake at a Muslim bakery. Top Right News. Retrieved from http://toprightnews.com/hidden-camera-will-muslim-bakers-make-a-gay-wedding-cake/.
Elias, S. A. 2014. First Americans lived on Bering land bridge fro thousands of years. Scientific American. Retrieved from http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/first-americans-lived-on-bering-land-bridge-for-thousands-of-years/.
Roth, S. 2015. Bakery risks large fine for anti-gay discrimination. USA Today. Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/02/02/bakery-same-sex-oregon-fined-wedding-cake/22771685/.
