Imagine living in a world where everyone was guaranteed to never, ever be offended. Children could go to school and never be called names, harassed, or bullied. Democrats and Republicans would always agree on every issue. Smokers could smoke wherever they want and nonsmokers would enjoy breathing it in. People of all religious denominations would respect all of each others' teachings. Better yet, we could create one world religion and call it Christabuddhahinduislamowiccajudaism. A woman whose sons and daughters are serving their country could proudly fly her nation's flag in her office.
You say that's ridiculous? What, you mean Christabuddhahinduislamowiccajudaism? Oh, you mean an American flying a flag in her office.
Well apparently for one African immigrant at a hospital in Mansfield, Texas, the American flag is offensive. And since this woman's rights apparently superceded all others in this workplace, the hospital upper management did what came natural to them, they put the flag where they felt it belongs; on the ground.
It is incredible to me how many people believe that they have a right not to be offended, and look to workplace management, lawyers, or the government to come to their aid if they are offended in any way.
As Christians, we should certainly never go out of our way to intentionally offend anyone, but we should not have or support the expectation of living in an offense-free society. There is only one way to assure that no one is ever offended at any time, and that would be to remove all forms of free expression, including the freedom of religious expression. We must never allow that to happen. If you think that sounds far fetched, then you need to realize that there are movements worldwide that aim to limit religious expression; particularly to label the Bible as hate speech. Once government is allowed to start down that road, there will be no stopping it. Do not let your guard down and be on the lookout for those who would remove any freedom of expression, even if it is an expression that offends you.
I am happy to say that the hospital finally got it right in this case and allowed the flag to be displayed. Perhaps that is because this happened in Texas and not San Francisco. The next time around, freedom may not be restored so quickly and painlessly.
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