Wednesday, September 9, 2015

With God on Their Side

It seems that members of all religions call on God (or G-D), when there is a need to reinforce their beliefs. In doing so, at times, there may be a conflict between the words from their higher authority, and the rules for whomever they either work for are doing business with.

PROBLEM ONE:
Kim Davis is a Democrat who last fall was first elected clerk of Rowan County, Kentucky, and has been on the job since January. She makes $80,000 a year in a county where one-fourth of the residents live in poverty. Mrs. Davis worked 27 years for her mother, who held the same position for 37 years, and Mrs. Davis’s son Nathan now works as a deputy clerk.

In June, when the Supreme Court recognized the legality of gay marriage, Davis refused to issue licenses to gay couples, saying it goes against her Apostolic Christian faith, which she converted to four years ago. Even when she received a court order to issue such licenses, she refused, and was sentenced to serve time in jail. Mrs. Davis is familiar with marriage licenses since she has been married four times, including twice to the same man. She was released from jail on September 8, but it was not known whether she would allow five deputy clerks to issue licenses to gay couples. The sixth deputy, Nathan, will have to decide whether or not he believe in the court, his mother, or a greater power.

POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS:
(1) Do the job you were elected to do, i.e. issuing marriage licenses to all within the law, (2) take an extended leave, (3) find another job with the county that doesn’t challenge the tenets of your faith, (4) retire, (5) resign, (6) change your religion, or (7) run for a higher office. Many of her faith at rallies carried wooden crosses and signs reading “Kim Davis for President.”

PROBLEM TWO:
ExpressJet operates scheduled flights to more than 180 cities in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and the Bahamas as a regional carrier for American, Delta and United Airlines. There’s a Flight Attendant description and duties on its website, that includes making passengers feel comfortable and providing beverage and snack services.

Charee Stanley, a recently converted Muslim flight attendant based in Detroit, was suspended because she refused to serve alcohol to passengers, citing her religious beliefs.
While the Qur’an forbids the use of alcohol, it doesn’t specifically state that an individual can’t serve such beverages. The holy book was written in the 7th century CE, before there were any full-service airlines. Apparently Ms. Stanley had worked out an accommodation with other flight attendants regarding serving alcoholic beverages. An attorney for the Council of American Islamic Relations Michigan (CAIR) notified the airline, while Ms. Stanley filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Opportunity Commission. “I don’t think that I should have to choose between practicing my religion properly or earning a living, they are both important.”


POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS: (1) Convert to Catholicism where drinking is not only legal but on St. Patrick’s Day, it’s an acceptable tradition, (2) get a position with another transportation company where alcoholic beverages are not served, such as on a Greyhound bus, (3) read the job description before you apply for any position, or (4) stay at your present job, but practicing spilling all alcoholic drinks on your passenger’s laps. You may get promoted and become a pilot, and there is a dire need for non-alcoholic pilots.

PROBLEM THREE:
The religious beliefs of many ultra-orthodox Jews, prohibits a male from touching a woman who is not a family member, regardless of how religious she may be. Accordingly, when an ultra-orthodox man travels to Israel by air, it would be an unpardonable shanda (sin) for him to sit next to any woman other than his wife or his female offspring.

Far too many flights from the USA to Israel have been delayed because an ultra-orthodox male demanded a seat that had been bought and was sat upon by a woman that was not his own. Some ultra-religious men complain loudly to attendants, and/or refuse to sit down until they get their way. In some instances, the flight would be delayed to the inconvenience of all passengers not dressed in black.

POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS: (1) Let the ultra-religious buy an entire section of a scheduled airline flight to the Holy Land, and have it roped off, or (2) better yet, have them start their own airline with strictly kosher seating arrangements. They could reverently name their airline, “God’s Orthodox Daveners, “ who are those who pray religiously.