(photo courtesy of Think Progress)

Islamic Fundamentalism is to Islam as  ________________  is to Christianity.

This nation has a long history of persecuting various religious, racial, and ethnic groups, something that goes against the very core of the origin of the United States. It is constitutionally and ethically wrong and unjust to persecute the Muslim people. Muslims are not responsible for 9/11 and they should not be held accountable for the Islamic fundamentalists responsible for terrorizing our nation. We need to stop protesting their community centers and Mosques. Instead, we need to help build them.

As we take the time to observe September 11th, we need to work harder to eradicate the ignorance and fear that lurks behind outward hateful discrimination. We need to counter the hate-mongers and the political and religious leaders and media outlets that ignite these firestorms of hate and fear. Apathy will not work here anymore. If we want to coexist more peacefully, we need to act like it.

I believe being a smart shopper goes beyond clipping coupons, looking for good deals, and avoiding paying full retail. A smart shopper also shops with their conscience. We all have our own ethical beliefs and values, neither of which should be compromised because of a good deal.

There are issues we all care about, whether it be equal rights for gays, environmental concerns, sweatshop and child labor, animal testing, war funding, white-collar crime, etc… I believe that giving money to a business that goes against our ethical values is like directly contributing to the very issues we object. We would never do that, so why do it when we shop or eat? As consumers, we’re a powerful group. We have our voice and we have our wallets. When we voice our objections to bad business practices and close our wallets, we’re making a powerful statement.

I’m not urging my readers to take up the same causes that I believe in, but I am urging everyone who reads this to listen to your conscience before you buy. Educate yourself about companies that you regularly buy from and how your purchases were manufactured or produced. Learn about their political contributions and donations. We’re not always going to be aware of bad business, but we should all be doing our best to know as much as possible. That’s what makes us a smart shopper.

Are there businesses you don’t support for one reason or another? Would love to hear about your own story.

Interested in knowing more about the businesses that I currently boycott? See below:

Chick-fil-A

Chick-fil-A has donated large sums of money and has a long history of cross-promotion with Focus on the Family, a fundamentalist Christian organization that takes an active and costly stance opposing same-sex marriage and other social issues that I strongly support.

Kentucky Fried Chicken

I haven’t ordered from Kentucky Fried Chicken in over a decade simply because I don’t like their food. But now I have even more reason to ever go back – KFC has a long history of animal cruelty towards chickens. The birds are caged in horrible conditions and then slaughtered using cruel methods. Yes, the chickens will eventually die for our bucket of fried chicken anyways, but that doesn’t mean they need to be treated cruelly and horrifically killed before ending up on your dinner table.

Nestle Corporation

When I learned about the unethical business practices and their use of suppliers that violate human rights, I stopped buying products from Nestle. This includes a host of other brands that are owned or jointly owned by Nestle.  From buying cocoa from suppliers that use child slaves and purchasing milk from Mugabe to promoting unhealthy food products for infants and children to workers rights issues, Nestle has a very long history of problematic and unethical business practices. In addiction to the candy and chocolate products that most Americans are familiar with, the Nestle Corporation owns many brands, including Dreyers Ice Cream, Haagen-Dazs, the Skinny Cow, Lean Cusine, Hot Pockets, Stouffers, Jenny Craig, Coffee-Mate, Taster’s Choice, Jamba bottled juices, Alpo dog food, Friskies, Fancy Feast, Gerber baby foods and products, Perrier water, Arrowhead water, Polan Spring water, and Power Bar. They also have joint business ventures with Coca-Cola, L’Oreal, and General Mills.

Procter and Gamble

P&G has a long history of testing on animals for their household products, pet food, and cosmetics. Brands produced by P&G include Always, Ariel, Bold, Camay, Crest, Daz, Dreft, Fairy, Flash, Head and Shoulders, Insignia, Iams, Milton, Napisan, Oil of Ulay, Old Spice, Pampers, Sinex, Tide, Viakal, Vidal Sassoon, Vortex and Zest.

I walked over to the polling station down the street from me with my toddler in tow. I didn’t have to take him with me. Grandma is coming over later to babysit and I could have waited until then. I also could have gone later today when the Dude returned from work. But I didn’t want to do that. I wanted to bring my 2 year old with me because I want him to be a part of this day, even if he’s 16 years away from casting his first vote.

It’s not the Monkey’s first election. He was first introduced to the election process at 2 weeks old. I remember strolling him down the street to our local firehouse in downtown San Francisco. Sure, he slept through all of it but I was glad he was there with me while I performed my civic duty. I hope he is always with me on these important days.

I have great memories of going to the polls with my parents. We would walk down to a neighbor’s garage and I would go into the polling booth with one of my parents while they filled out their votes. I remember talking to them about their decisions and why they voted a certain way. I didn’t always agree with them (I still don’t!) but it always made for interesting conversations. I still enjoy talking to both of my parents about our elections, especially when we have differing points of view.

Shortly after I turned 18 in 1994, I once again walked down to a neighbor’s garage with my mother. But, this time, I got to cast my first vote.  It wasn’t a big Presidential election, but I was able to voice my opinions on a number of other issues and elections. I remember feeling really good after I left the polling booth. I felt like an adult and true citizen for the first time in my young life.

Not an election goes by that I do not vote. When I move, one of the first things on my to-do list is to register to vote. It’s sometimes a challenge to get to the polls, especially when we have kids in tow, but it’s something that can’t be be ignored. I was contemplating whether or not to register for a permanent vote-by-mail, just to make things easier, but the Dude had a good argument against it. It’s important to bring your kids to the polls. It’s important to introduce them to the democratic process, no matter how young. We may be frustrated if the line is long, but those minutes spent waiting to voice our political opinions are worth it. Children are never too young to witness the power of voting and democracy in action

Unlike so many other countries, we’re able to express our political opinions on a regular basis. We should never take that for granted. Don’t let your kids take it for granted, either. Take them to the polls and talk to them about the process. If they’re old enough to question your beliefs and votes, don’t hide from that conversation. Discuss, inform from all points of view, and then let make their own decisions. Modeling how to be a responsible citizen with an informed and educated opinion is one of the best gifts you can give to your children.

I, for one, am thrilled.

However, this day is also a bittersweet day. There are millions of people who are still not legally allowed to marry. Whether or not they even want to be married is not the point. The point is, they don’t even have the right. I want to see this changed within my lifetime, but I especially want to see this changed for our children.

So, in honor of:

• the many couples celebrating their love today by legally recognizing their commitment to one another,
• the many couples who do not yet have the right to marry, and
• future generations of the LGBT community that will hopefully never have to endure prejudice, hate, and discrimination

I would like to re-post an article I wrote about this topic back in October. This message is for all the moms out there who may not agree with this issue. This message is for all moms out there who may agree, but do not take a stand.

I urge you to reconsider.

Gay Rights: Why Mamas Need to Take a Stand Against Inequality

As a woman, I often think about the time before my birth and what my female ancestors had to endure.

For centuries, women have had to fight to establish equality in a very paternalistic society. Women had to band together to form the Suffrage Movement. Women fought for equality during the Civil Rights Movement and created the Feminist Movement when society still treated them like second-class citizens. In the last 100 years, women have been incredibly successful in overturning anti-discriminatory laws and creating new laws to protect our rights. There is no doubt that the time we live in now is markedly different than the era of our mothers and grandmothers.

As women:

• We lived without voting rights until 1920.
• We lived without FDA-approved birth-control until 1960.
• We lived without discrimination laws and equal opportunity in the workplace until 1964.
• We lived with sex-segregated employment ads until 1968.
• We lived without the Equal Pay Act until 1970.
• We lived without Title IX until 1972.
• We lived without reproductive rights until 1973.
• We lived without the Pregnancy Discrimination Ban until 1978.
• We lived without the Lily Ledbetter Act until 2009.

From our mothers to our great-great-great grandmothers, women have worked hard to ensure a better future for their daughters, and the women of today continue to take a stand against injustice and inequality. As women, we have lived with discrimination and intolerance. We have lived as second-class citizens. We have lived without laws to protect ourselves and our rights. So, I ask my mama-sisters, why aren’t we working harder to ensure a better future for our children and grandchildren? Why aren’t we doing more to stand up to injustice and inequality?

I live in California where Prop 22 passed in 2000 with 61.4% of the vote. On May 15, 2008, Prop 22 was ruled unconstitutional and invalidated. The reaction was mixed, to say the least. Financed by powerful religious organizations and anti-gay organizations, Prop 8 passed just this last year with 52.2% of the vote. I have gay friends who were able to legally marry without problem between May 15th and November 4th. I have other gay friends who missed that small window and do not have that same right. Shortly after the election, I was talking with a few women about the outcome. One mom mentioned that she was tired of all the talk and didn’t want her child exposed to people discussing gay rights. She said, in so many words – it’s so hard for kids these days anyways, so why do we need to add one more thing? I thought about that and replied, yes, it is hard. So why don’t we work to make it easier for them.

Opponents of gay equality rights often cite the Bible as a source for their discrimination. I take issue with that, especially as woman. I am a woman of faith, but I do not take the Bible as a literal and valid source for establishing laws in our society. If that were the case, then equality laws and protections for women would never have been created.

Many of us look back to our history and think, wow, how did women live in a world without equal rights? Within 10 years, I want people to look back and think the same thing. Legal discrimination against gays is a major problem of today. So, I ask you, let’s work to make sure that it’s still not a problem in 10 years. Let’s make sure that future generations look back and think, wow, how did people ever think that discrimination against gays and gay rights was acceptable?

The best place to start making a difference is in the home. As the parents, we are the primary role models for our children. They look to us for guidance on how to navigate this world and how to interact with others. If we are intolerant, discriminatory, and judgmental of others, our children will learn to do the same. Teach your children well. Teach them by being a role model for tolerance, acceptance, and for what is right. It might be your child that needs legal protections and anti-discriminatory laws in the future. But, even more so, it might be your child that needs to know they are always loved and accepted by you…no matter who they love.

Learn more about what you can do for gay rights:

Human Rights Campaign
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
Gay Rights

In California:
Courage Campaign
No on 8

Yet I always love watching both on Superbowl Sunday.

Watching the Big Game is a tradition for most Americans and a recent survey pointed out that most people watch because of the commercials. Superbowl commercials are usually clever, fun, and entertaining. Talking babies, fighting parade balloons, frogs croaking out Buuud-Weiiiiiis-Eeeer. Those are the types of commercials I anticipate watching while kicking back a beer and munching on buffalo wings.  The last thing I want to interrupt the party mood of a good football game is the topic of abortion.

Where is that Doritos girl when you need her?

Thanks to CBS, college football superstar Tim Tebow and his mother Pam Tebow, the University of Florida, and Focus on the Family, the topic of abortion will be introduced at some point during the game. I can just see it now: families and friends gathered around the HD flatscreen laughing and having fun when, out of nowhere, comes the record-scratching moment when Tim and Pam Tebow come across the screen. We’re all going to go from enjoying a fun game with light-hearted commercials to talking about the most hotly-debated and divisive topic ever known to this country.

What is the purpose of their message? Most adults know where they stand on the topic of abortion, which leads me to believe that CBS and Focus on the Family is trying to reach out to a different audience. Our children. How do you talk to your young kids about abortion, let alone in the middle of a fun afternoon watching football? There is a time and place to air commercials of this nature and the most popular televised sporting event of the year enjoyed by families all over the country is not it.

There is no doubt that the topic of abortion should be introduced to your children at some point, especially once they hit the pre-teen years. But how and when you approach it should be on your terms, not by the terms and values of CBS and Focus on the Family.

For centuries, women have had to fight to establish equality in a very paternalistic society. Women had to band together to form the Suffrage Movement. Women fought for equality during the Civil Rights Movement and created the Feminist Movement when society still treated them like second-class citizens. In the last 100 years, women have been incredibly successful in overturning anti-discriminatory laws and creating new laws to protect our rights. There is no doubt that the time we live in now is markedly different than the era of our mothers and grandmothers.

As women:

• We lived without voting rights until 1920.
• We lived without FDA-approved birth-control until 1960.
• We lived without discrimination laws and equal opportunity in the workplace until 1964.
• We lived with sex-segregated employment ads until 1968.
• We  lived without the Equal Pay Act until 1970.
• We lived without Title IX until 1972.
• We lived without reproductive rights until 1973.
• We lived without the Pregnancy Discrimination Ban until 1978.
• We lived without the Lily Ledbetter Act until 2009.

From our mothers to our great-great-great grandmothers, women have worked hard to ensure a better future for their daughters, and the women of today continue to take a stand against injustice and inequality. As women, we have lived with discrimination and intolerance. We have lived as second-class citizens. We have lived without laws to protect ourselves and our rights. So, I ask my mama-sisters, why aren’t we working harder to ensure a better future for our children and grandchildren?  Why aren’t we doing more to stand up to injustice and inequality?

I live in California where Prop 22 passed in 2000 with 61.4% of the vote. On May 15, 2008, Prop 22 was ruled unconstitutional and invalidated. The reaction was mixed, to say the least. Financed by powerful religious organizations and anti-gay organizations, Prop 8 passed just this last year with 52.2% of the vote. I have gay friends who were able to legally marry without problem between May 15th and November 4th. I have other gay friends who missed that small window and do not have that same right. Shortly after the election, I was talking with a few women about the outcome. One mom mentioned that she was tired of all the talk and didn’t want her child exposed to people discussing gay rights. She said, in so many words – it’s so hard for kids these days anyways, so why do we need to add one more thing? I thought about that and replied, yes, it is hard. So why don’t we work to make it easier for them.

Opponents of gay equality rights often cite the Bible as a source for their discrimination. I take issue with that, especially as woman. I am a woman of faith, but I do not take the Bible as a literal and valid source for establishing laws in our society. If that were the case, then equality laws and protections for women would never have been created.

Many of us look back to our history and think, wow, how did women live in a world without equal rights? Within 10 years, I want people to look back and think the same thing. Legal discrimination against gays is a major problem of today. So, I ask you, let’s work to make sure that it’s still not a problem in 10 years. Let’s make sure that future generations look back and think, wow, how did people ever think that discrimination against gays and gay rights was acceptable?

The best place to start making a difference is in the home. As the parents, we are the primary role models for our children. They look to us for guidance on how to navigate this world and how to interact with others. If we are intolerant, discriminatory, and judgmental of others, our children will learn to do the same. Teach your children well. Teach them by being a role model for tolerance, acceptance, and for what is right. It might be your child that needs legal protections and anti-discriminatory laws in the future.  But, even more so, it might be your child that needs to know they are always loved and accepted by you…no matter who they love.

Learn more about what you can do for gay rights:

Human Rights Campaign
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
Gay Rights

In California:
Courage Campaign
No on 8