But here I disagree- as there is no “higher authority” than the US Gov’t. If their “higher authority” allowed them to put feces in their products, it’d be illegal, “Higher authority” or no.
But the point isn’t that the product is better solely because it follows kosher rules, it’s that it’s better because the kosher rules specifically prohibit shortcuts and impurities that the government allows.
To clarify, you’re looking for a general rule, while I’m talking about a specific case.
DrDeth - I know nothing about the free dictionary, so I do not know whether they order their definitions in terms of “common-ness.” The very well may.
I note that #6 - the meaning I intended - is the only one that exists independent of a specific religion. I have no objection to the term being used to modify belief systems or mindsets other than Christianity.
Oh, okay, so just so we’re clear, the position that you’re taking is that the Darwin fish isn’t mocking Christianity?
Muntz even made cars for a short time! He had help, of course.
To the extent the Darwin fish mocks Christianity, I think it’s target may well be folks who feel a need to advertise their Christian beliefs with a piece of plastic on their car.
Of course, if you look at it that way, maybe the Christian fish themselves mock the more important elements of Christianity, turning it into a childish exercise of “look at me,” and “us against them.”
My answer to the OP: there is no way I’ll ever be “jellin’”.
Well, if you’re the type to mock Christianity outright, that can certainly be one of the tools in your arsenal, I guess. When I see it I interpret it as a dismissal of magical thinking in that person’s life, no more, no less, unless I have reason to believe otherwise. That’d be my motivation for getting it, anyway. I know not everyone feels the same way; for example, I know a lot of people who would empathize with those who display Darwin fish, who can talk your ears off about astrology. But that’s how I interpret it. Like the Christian fish, it’s really rather subdued and understated.
I personally would probably not put the Darwin fish on my car because I think a lot of people would interpret it as coldhearted mockery. But that’s not how I see it, and if I saw someone with a Darwin fish I would assume they took the same viewpoint I did.
In principle, I see no problem at all with businesses that openly embrace a religious faith. Whether or not I choose to patronize such establishments has more to do with the way this association affects the way they do business. If they conduct their affairs with honesty, decency, and love for their Fellow Man, I am all for it. If, on the other hand, they use their religious faith as justification for unfair/unethical/illegal behavior, well, then, fuck 'em.
Chick-Fil-A I don’t have a problem with. I’ve just got to admire a company that will willingly forgo business on Sunday (and the potential profits therein) based on the belief that one should have the opportunity to spend the day with one’s family. That’s putting your money where your mouth is.
Wal-Mart has lost my business forever, but it has nothing to do with their cozying up to the Moral Majority crowd – it has entirely to do with their ruthless anticompetitive practices.
Here in Austin, I find that a lot of business wear their political / religious / activist beliefs on their sleeves, so to speak.
Just thought of another one.
At our town’s 4th of July parade, there was a float that had a “ProLife” message.
On the back, it said “sponsored by (a local car dealer).”
Which caused my wife and me to look at each other and she said, “Well, I guess we’ll never buy a car there.”
A Tucson car dealership recently funded a controversial special-election public transportation measure, whose main points of contention (for me at least) were that it did nothing to connect the fragmented bus lines, threw lots of money at an incredibly minimal trolley system without actually attempting to expand its service or make it more convenient, and included no provisions for a highway system, and given its monetary scale its passage meant we wouldn’t be able to fix any of those problems with another bill for at least another 20 years.
Smelled funny to me. I wouldn’t buy from that dealership anyway because I don’t buy Fords, but I’m going to doubly not go there now, or something.
I guess I missed that one. What happened in it and what was it that offended him?
Are there companies that do that? Is that even legal?
It’s a moot point, since there isn’t a taco bell anywhere near me and I’d have to be very drunk before I ate at one, but damn if that “good to go” hand gesture dude doesn’t make me want to never eat at that place ever.