Some friends and I were discussing the larger question of conscience rights yesterday, and one of the least incisive thinkers started to blame it all on those who want a “secular society.” She had it exactly backwards. Public life needs to be secular in order to be as fair as possible to everyone. We can’t have public recognition of religion for me but not for thee.
Those who are familiar with what I have written on FR over the years (just passed my 14th anniversary) know that I have been saying this for a long time, much to the discomfort of many on this forum. I am not an atheist. On the contrary, a devout Christian. But I see that we cannot let the country devolve into “I won’t bake your cake” and “I won’t cut your hair.” We can’t go back to segregated lunch counters either. We already fought this battle.
The only other alternative is for people to form completely private communities that are large enough to sustain businesses. That will take a while, but I don’t see any other way.
Why not? Going back to the principle that a private entity, including a business, may choose who to interact with, and who NOT to interact with, would eliminate a lot of problems.