Starbucked: Lessons From the Imaginary War on the Imaginary War on Christmas

It was a strange week in social media land. If you somehow missed it, here’s the twenty second version: a controversy erupted after the coffee chain “Starbucks” unveiled its 2015 “holiday” cup. Unlike past years, when the cup was adorned with snowflakes or reindeer, etc., this year’s cup is simply solid red, and devoid of graphics other than Starbucks’ normal logo. A self-professed “social media evangelist” publicly criticized Starbucks in a video, asserting, among other things, that Starbucks changed its cups because it “hates Jesus.” The video went viral, sparking countless others to react to the backlash by mocking those purportedly “outraged” by the cups. So it has gone all week.  Continue reading Starbucked: Lessons From the Imaginary War on the Imaginary War on Christmas

On Religious Freedom

Well, I swore I wasn’t going to do this. After taking on marriage equality in my first-ever blog post, and somehow coming out with most of my skin intact, I told myself the safest thing to do next would be to write a nice feel-good piece—something everybody could relate to and agree on, that wouldn’t offend anyone. Something involving a golden retriever puppy, perhaps, who teaches a crotchety but decent-hearted old widower how to live and love again—something that could be easily adapted into a one-hour Hallmark Channel special.  Continue reading On Religious Freedom