Captain Oblivious

Where do some people get the idea that they are allowed to force others to follow their morality? Fundamentalists of all of the branches of the religion tree (all religions share common attributes, so they may all be considered branches of a larger religious philosophy), be they Christian, Muslim or other, are so convinced their morality is better than everybody else's that they try to enforce that morality on people who don't follow their faith. The arrogance is truly astonishing. What makes them so sure they're right, first of all? We call it 'faith' because it cannot be proven. It is, by definition, an uncertain thing. Second, even if they're positive their interpretation is correct, why do they think their certainty counts more than someone else's certainty? Or even someone else's doubt? One human's morality is not more worthy than another human's. And the morality of one million people is still not more worthy than one other person's. To those who think their faith means they're better than everyone else, I've got some news: that arrogance makes your opinions worth less than everyone else's, not more.

What triggered my most recent rant about the Christian Right (which is neither, in my not particularly humble opinion)? This moron. Here we have a pharmacist who not only refuses to fill a valid birth control prescription, he also refuses to allow another pharmacy to complete a transfer of the script so that they could fill it. So here we have one person imposing their morality on not only a legitimate customer of his services, but also on that customer's physician AND another pharmacist.

Let's start at the beginning. This is all pretty easy, really. A pharmacist is not responsible for prescribing medicine. That's the doctor's job. The pharmacist is simply supposed to fill the prescription. For a pharmacist to refuse to fill a doctor's prescription because it violates their morality is like a bartender refusing to provide alcohol because he's a tee-totaler. News flash for this genius: filling birth control prescriptions is part of your JOB. If you can't morally do that because you're so arrogant in your so-called faith that you don't think others deserve to make their own decisions, get a new job! Doctors who are morally opposed to abortion don't take jobs at abortion clinics. Lawyers who can't bring themselves to defend potential criminals in court don't become criminal defense attorneys. True pacifists do not join the military (and if drafted are transferred to non-combat branches). This is NOT a difficult concept, folks.

Just watch, though. The oh-so-oppressed Christians in this country (yeah, that's sarcasm) will complain that the pharmacist is being forced to violate his religious faith by filling these prescriptions. Leaving aside the question of why it is a violation of one's faith to allow others to do something that violates one's faith (you are going to burn in eternal damnation if I practice birth control?!?), this is an irrelevant claim. If my religious beliefs meant that I couldn't come to work during the daytime, it is not my employer's obligation (legally OR morally) to provide me with a job that fits that requirement, it is my personal responsibility to find a job that doesn't conflict with my faith. So don't believe the 'persecution' claim. In reality, this joker persecuted the woman with the prescription and overruled her doctor's medical judgment out of sheer arrogance.