THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD
(apologies to Keith Olbermann)
David Green, founder & CEO of Hobby Lobby
This letter from is so stunningly arrogant, self-congratulatory, and off-base, that it bears being reproduced in its entirety.
When my family and I started our company 40 years ago, we were working out of a garage on a $600 bank loan, assembling miniature picture frames.. Our first retail store wasn’t much bigger than most people’s living rooms, but we had faith that we would succeed if we lived and worked according to God’s word. From there, Hobby Lobby has become one of the nation’s largest arts and crafts retailers, with more than 500 locations in 41 states. Our children grew up into fine business leaders, and today we run Hobby Lobby together, as a family. We’re Christians, and we run our business on Christian principles. I’ve always said that the first two goals of our business are (1) to run our business in harmony with God’s laws, and (2) to focus on people more than money. And that’s what we’ve tried to do. We close early so our employees can see their families at night. We keep our stores closed on Sundays, one of the week’s biggest shopping days, so that our workers and their families can enjoy a day of rest. We believe that it is by God’s grace that Hobby Lobby has endured, and he has blessed us and our employees. We’ve not only added jobs in a weak economy, we’ve raised wages for the past four years in a row. Our full-time employees start at 80% above minimum wage.
Now, our government threatens to change all of that. A new government healthcare mandate says that our family business MUST provide what I believe are abortion-causing drugs as part of our health insurance. Being Christians, we don’t pay for drugs that might cause abortions, which means that we don’t cover emergency contraception, the morning-after pill or the week-after pill. We believe doing so might end a life after the moment of conception, something that is contrary to our most important beliefs. It goes against the Biblical principles on which we have run this company since day one. If we refuse to comply, we could face $1.3 million PER DAY in government fines. Our government threatens to fine job creators in a bad economy. Our government threatens to fine a company that’s raised wages four years running. Our government threatens to fine a family for running its business according to its beliefs. It’s not right. I know people will say we ought to follow the rules; that it’s the same for everybody. But that’s not true. The government has exempted thousands of companies from this mandate, for reasons of convenience or cost. But it won’t exempt them for reasons of religious belief. So, Hobby Lobby and my family are forced to make a choice.
With great reluctance, we filed a lawsuit today, represented by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, asking a federal court to stop this mandate before it hurts our business. We don’t like to go running into court, but we no longer have a choice. We believe people are more important than the bottom line and that honoring God is more important than turning a profit. My family has lived the American dream. We want to continue growing our company and providing great jobs for thousands of employees, but the government is going to make that much more difficult. The government is forcing us to choose between following our faith and following the law. I say that’s a choice no American and no American business should have to make. The government cannot force you to follow laws that go against your fundamental religious belief. They have exempted thousands of companies but will not except Christian organizations including the Catholic Church. Since you will not see this in the liberal media, please pass this on to all your contacts.
Sincerely, David Green CEO and Founder of Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc.
The wisdom that comes from above is, first, pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, without uncertainty or insincerity. James 3:17
I find it difficult to know where to start….
We’re Christians, and we run our business on Christian principles. Not that I don’t admire those who endeavor to live their beliefs, but I really have to wonder about someone so clearly lacking in Christian humility. If Green is so intent on running his business on “Christian principles,” why does he feel the need to advertise?
Being Christians, we don’t pay for drugs that might cause abortions, which means that we don’t cover emergency contraception, the morning-after pill or the week-after pill. So, legally available health care is beyond the pale for Green? If he was a Jehovah’s Witness, would he force his employees to forego health insurance and medical care in favor of prayer?
Our government threatens to fine job creators in a bad economy. So, this puts Green above the law? Being a “job creator” means that he can choose to simply ignore laws he doesn’t like?
The government cannot force you to follow laws that go against your fundamental religious belief. Actually, the government can, should, and does. An American citizen simply doesn’t get the right to pick and choose what laws they’ll obey. The rule of law isn’t a menu a la carte choices that allows you to decide which laws are convenient and which aren’t. If you want to live in a society where the wealthy and powerful determine which laws they’ll obey…well, I hear Russia is beautiful this time of year. Religious belief does NOT trump the rule of law.
I could go on and on, but Green’s smug self-righteous represents everything I detest about modern Christianity. His faith is as much about the teachings of Jesus Christ as Rush Limbaugh is about feminism. It’s an intolerant, self-centered, self-congratulatory view of the world, with a singular distaste for laws that he finds burdensome. Green doesn’t have to like the Affordable Care Act, but it is the law of the land. Adapt or die. If your “Christian principles” don’t encompass complying with the rule of law, then what you believe is less “Christianity” than self-centered entitlement.
Green is entitled to believe what he chooses. If he wants to sacrifice goats in the atrium of Hobby Lobby’s corporate office, that’s on him…but he shouldn’t be able to decree what sort of medical care Hobby Lobby’s insurance plan will pay for. What Green refers to as his “Christian principles” have less to do with worshiping Jesus Christ than with authoritarianism- I write the check, therefore I get to decide who gets what.
Massa decides what sort of health care you’ll be allowed access to…and you’ll like it….
Don’t get me wrong; I understand that Green is the CEO and as such he’s the captain of the ship. Even captains have to follows laws, including some they may not necessarily be fond of. His employees certainly have their right to work elsewhere if they object to Green’s draconian and hyper-religious views…but that’s easier said than done in this economy. It’s not simply a matter of going out and finding another job. Sometimes, those jobs are hard to come by, making the role Green inhabits closer to that of plantation boss.
You have to know that Green’s argument is weak and unsupportable when he resorts to the “you will not see this in the liberal media” argument. Why is it that when Conservative religious types can’t make a solid argument, they resort to blaming “the Liberal media?”
Green’s personal beliefs are his own, and he’s entitled to them. What he doesn’t have is the right to impose those beliefs on his employees. When you hire people to help you run your business, it’s not like running a plantation; you don’t hold absolute sway over their private lives. Then again, when your God is an intolerant and inflexible SOB, you can pretty much do what you want to those in subordinate positions, right?
Or is it just that Green doesn’t like being told what to do by The Black Guy in the White House ©??
