There is a picture re-surfacing of a PacSun store. The picture discusses a shirt that was released last year with an upside down flag. There was a huge hubbub and the shirt was taken off the shelves and an apology given by the company. The post going around discusses how the person will never shop at the store again because of disrespect to the country. It got me thinking.....
Okay, first of all, let me say the following, in the interest of full disclosure: 1) An upside down flag is a sign of distress. Not sure it qualifies as disrespect. It was definitely not a wise marketing choice, in my opinion. 2) I've literally NEVER shopped in a Pac Sun
This brings me to the true topic of this post: Freedom.
Our Constitution was founded on creating freedom. This freedom applies to all citizens of this country. We have freedom of speech, freedom of expression, freedom of religion and so much more. This opens so many doors for so many people. This also provides freedom for companies. Now here's the thing... stores have the right to make these products. Are they something I'd purchase? Nope. Are they something I'd recommend? Nope. Does that mean that I should squash someone else's freedom to do those things? Absolutely not. You see, just because I don't like or agree with something doesn't mean that it shouldn't be allowed to exist.
By that same token, you have a right to not shop at a store. You have a right to give bad reviews of a store. You have the right to tell every friend you know about that store and how you hate it. You have the right to be angry. All of these things are provided to you because of men that fought for your freedom (and continue to do so).
What we should NOT be doing is asking the government to get involved? Why? Because every time you get the government involved in something that can be handled by simply making another choice, we not only create a bigger government that sticks its nose in everything, but we also stretch them very thin too. Imagine a kindergarten classroom: there are 25 kids in the class and the class has classroom rules. Johnny gets mad that Susie took the red crayon so he gets the teacher who has to get involved. While that's going on Billy asks Sally to play hopscotch but she doesn't want to play so the teacher asks them to wait a moment and she'll help them with their problem. Simultaneously, Molly realizes that Becky has a shirt on that is pink with hearts and she hates hearts so she needs the teacher to help. The teacher is now stretched so thin that she can't do the job she is supposed to do. All of these things could have been solved by making a different decision but involving the teacher seems like an easy fix. Let someone else fix it for you, right? That's what we do when we create a bigger government. We look for an easy fix.
This keeps happening everywhere in our country. A baker refuses to bake a cake for a gay couple. Instead of going to a different baker and putting a bad review on Yelp, they sue him. They get the government involved in something that could have been resolved without it. A store has a label that says "boy toys" on an aisle. Instead of just ignoring the sign, they're sued. There are frivolous lawsuits filed daily over things that could easily have been resolved by simply making another choice. It doesn't mean you can't give a bad review or even peacefully protest. However, getting the government involved just mucks things up. We complain about how inept the government is, yet we are demanding more and more out of them.
Look, this goes further than Democrat or Republican. This goes further than Liberal or Conservative. This is about personal responsibility. Stop tattling over every little thing and be an adult! You want to change something? Great! Write a letter or email. Give a bad review...or, on the other end, a great review! If it's not hurting your or someone else (and I don't mean hurting your feelings because...seriously), move on and stop being a bunch of whiny fussy pants that complain about everything . Stop trying to get the teacher involved when you could just use the blue crayon instead.
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