Spring Break
Pride, righteous anger have no place in debate
Michelle Anjirbag
Issue date: 11/5/09 Section: Commentary
Ethics, integrity and transparency are words whose meanings are lost every time a case is allowed into a courtroom where a wronged party feels justified to claim perceived discrimination. How many lawsuits claim sex, race, age and religion as reason for being let go from a job? These are the buzzwords that seem to trigger the only sense of honor in the U.S., based not on a code of chivalry or equality, but on political correctness. Along with that is the idea that everyone is entitled to every expression of freedom possible - not when there is a reason to do so, but because our Constitution and Bill of Rights says we can. When these rights conflict, where ethics, integrity and transparency would determine true assault from damaged ego, we instead have a jumbled mess where in order to avoid everyone's toes we tread heavily upon their heels instead - and we call it a trial, or even politics.
Recently, a Florida man was fired from his job as a cashier at an Okeechobee Home Depot for wearing a pin on his apron reading "One nation under God, indivisible." According to a Home Depot spokesperson, the employee was non-compliant with the blanket policy concerning non-company-provided pins or badges on the aprons. But as the employee had been wearing the pin since March 2008, and had been fired only after he began carrying a Bible with him to read during breaks, he is suing the hardware conglomerate for wrongful termination based on religious discrimination. Now, cases of this nature can be debated for months, and years afterwards - something I will not do here. The truth of the matter is that as the trials play out, more statements will be made, further skewing perceptions on all sides of why this decision was made. More important than the actual settlement is what this type of suit says about our society.
The U.S. is a secular nation, but began as a haven from religious persecution. Our roots are mixed and as we recognize more groups, and attempt to be sensitive to each and every need, right each and every wrong, we create unnecessary issues that plague our lives and hinder further change.
Recently, a Florida man was fired from his job as a cashier at an Okeechobee Home Depot for wearing a pin on his apron reading "One nation under God, indivisible." According to a Home Depot spokesperson, the employee was non-compliant with the blanket policy concerning non-company-provided pins or badges on the aprons. But as the employee had been wearing the pin since March 2008, and had been fired only after he began carrying a Bible with him to read during breaks, he is suing the hardware conglomerate for wrongful termination based on religious discrimination. Now, cases of this nature can be debated for months, and years afterwards - something I will not do here. The truth of the matter is that as the trials play out, more statements will be made, further skewing perceptions on all sides of why this decision was made. More important than the actual settlement is what this type of suit says about our society.
The U.S. is a secular nation, but began as a haven from religious persecution. Our roots are mixed and as we recognize more groups, and attempt to be sensitive to each and every need, right each and every wrong, we create unnecessary issues that plague our lives and hinder further change.
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