By Robert Murphy – LibertyChat.com Contributor -
In reaction to the Supreme Court’s decision on Hobby Lobby and birth control, the Facebook page “US Uncut” garnered (as of this writing) 57,000+ shares of the following poster:
Now I don’t know for sure what the creators of the poster exactly had in mind, but it was crystal clear that many (perhaps most) of the supporters in the comments were objecting to the Supreme Court’s decision. In other words, many (perhaps most) of the people who loved the above poster, thought it did a great job showing the absurdity of the Court ruling.
Let me walk through this slowly because I think it’s a critical point that is packed into the sarcastic comedy above. The type of progressive supporter I have in mind wanted Christian conservatives to say—in response to the argument captured in the poster—something like, “Oh wait, the argument we support that allows Hobby Lobby to get out of covering birth control in their employee health plans, could just as easily allow antiwar leftists to get out of paying for our splendid wars in the Middle East. So to be consistent, we should stop griping about ObamaCare so much, and let those poor women get contraceptives without having to pay out of pocket.”
But why in the world should the progressive go that route with it? Instead, I wish more of them would see the full benefits of a consistent application of the principles of liberty. Whoever created the above poster is right: The same arguments that Hobby Lobby supporters use to defend the company’s right to refuse to pay for contraceptives in violation of their religious beliefs, should all the more so demonstrate that nobody should be forced to pay for bombs and tanks in violation of their religious beliefs.
For example, I personally am a Christian pacifist; I believe that Jesus wasn’t speaking metaphorically when He said turn the other cheek. So as much as it bothers me when the federal government takes my money against my will in order to fund a Mars rover, it absolutely disgusts me, and offends my religious sensibilities, when the feds take my money in order to bomb foreigners. Any Sean Hannity listener who totally “gets” the justice of the Hobby Lobby ruling, should be able to see the logic in letting me opt out of the activities of the warfare State.
As the poster above indicates, the financial savings from a rollback of the U.S. empire would be enormous. It is ironic that so many of today’s so-called “conservatives” in the media cannot see that their cherished Department of Defense is the epitome of a bloated bureaucracy. As Tom Woods likes to point out, the so-called conservatives are great at diagnosing the reckless spending and horrible judgment of the people in DC when it comes to domestic social programs, but for some reason these exact same politicians become wise stewards of the public treasury, and have the wisdom to make life-or-death decisions, when it comes to foreign policy.
The conservative supporters of the Hobby Lobby decision are correct when they say no employer should be forced to pay for contraception against his or her religious beliefs. The liberal opponents of the Hobby Lobby decision are correct when they say this principle would imply that religious pacifists shouldn’t have to pay for war.
If only these two camps would drop their petty sniping and see the beautiful vision of a truly free society: A prosperous world without stupid and stifling regulations on business, and a peaceful world without a snooping NSA and a fleet of flying killer robots controlled by megalomaniacs in DC.
In reaction to the Supreme Court’s decision on Hobby Lobby and birth control, the Facebook page “US Uncut” garnered (as of this writing) 57,000+ shares of the following poster:
Now I don’t know for sure what the creators of the poster exactly had in mind, but it was crystal clear that many (perhaps most) of the supporters in the comments were objecting to the Supreme Court’s decision. In other words, many (perhaps most) of the people who loved the above poster, thought it did a great job showing the absurdity of the Court ruling.
Let me walk through this slowly because I think it’s a critical point that is packed into the sarcastic comedy above. The type of progressive supporter I have in mind wanted Christian conservatives to say—in response to the argument captured in the poster—something like, “Oh wait, the argument we support that allows Hobby Lobby to get out of covering birth control in their employee health plans, could just as easily allow antiwar leftists to get out of paying for our splendid wars in the Middle East. So to be consistent, we should stop griping about ObamaCare so much, and let those poor women get contraceptives without having to pay out of pocket.”
But why in the world should the progressive go that route with it? Instead, I wish more of them would see the full benefits of a consistent application of the principles of liberty. Whoever created the above poster is right: The same arguments that Hobby Lobby supporters use to defend the company’s right to refuse to pay for contraceptives in violation of their religious beliefs, should all the more so demonstrate that nobody should be forced to pay for bombs and tanks in violation of their religious beliefs.
For example, I personally am a Christian pacifist; I believe that Jesus wasn’t speaking metaphorically when He said turn the other cheek. So as much as it bothers me when the federal government takes my money against my will in order to fund a Mars rover, it absolutely disgusts me, and offends my religious sensibilities, when the feds take my money in order to bomb foreigners. Any Sean Hannity listener who totally “gets” the justice of the Hobby Lobby ruling, should be able to see the logic in letting me opt out of the activities of the warfare State.
As the poster above indicates, the financial savings from a rollback of the U.S. empire would be enormous. It is ironic that so many of today’s so-called “conservatives” in the media cannot see that their cherished Department of Defense is the epitome of a bloated bureaucracy. As Tom Woods likes to point out, the so-called conservatives are great at diagnosing the reckless spending and horrible judgment of the people in DC when it comes to domestic social programs, but for some reason these exact same politicians become wise stewards of the public treasury, and have the wisdom to make life-or-death decisions, when it comes to foreign policy.
The conservative supporters of the Hobby Lobby decision are correct when they say no employer should be forced to pay for contraception against his or her religious beliefs. The liberal opponents of the Hobby Lobby decision are correct when they say this principle would imply that religious pacifists shouldn’t have to pay for war.
If only these two camps would drop their petty sniping and see the beautiful vision of a truly free society: A prosperous world without stupid and stifling regulations on business, and a peaceful world without a snooping NSA and a fleet of flying killer robots controlled by megalomaniacs in DC.
