The Right To Be Stupid

I hope you guys don't judge me for this, but I'm going to admit something pretty embarrassing: I have done a lot of stupid things in my life.

At only 23, I'm sure that I have far surpassed my initial quota for stupid actions, and I have to request additional allowances on a daily basis.

A news story (that I have carefully avoided as much as possible) regarding homosexuals and some piece of legislation in Indiana has played a prominent role in my Facebook news feed recently. It seems that many people are upset because, from what I've gathered, business owners would be able to refuse service to homosexuals simply because of their sexual orientation.

Oddly, I'm not outraged. In fact, this seems perfectly reasonable. I'm more confused as to why we need any sort of legislation to back this up, and I'd like to explain why.

It seems to me that refusing service to a person or group of people is probably a stupid business decision on the whole. In general, turning away customers is a bad idea, because customers are how businesses make money. Thus, it seems to follow that turning away a whole group of customers and potential customers is an even worse idea.

Assuming that all things are equal and that moral standards and such don't exist to justify such a decision (this is the thing that my generation desperately wishes to do, so I will grant them this), there's only one word that can be used to describe such a decision: stupid.

As I said earlier, I have done a lot of stupid things in my life, but I have had the good fortune to avoid impacting anyone else's life, liberty, or property, so I haven't been arrested or sued. It seems that the poor business owner making a stupid decision has a lot in common with me, but somehow the results are supposed to be different, and this is where I get confused.

Why is it that, if I make widgets for a living and sell them to the public, my stupidity becomes punishable by law even though I remain a private citizen?

If I ever do decide to become a private business owner, I believe that I will put a sign reading I have the "right to make stupid decisions" right next to the one that says I have the "right to refuse service to anyone."

Really, though, this issue goes well beyond my right to be stupid, it morphs into a property rights issue. I own myself, my products, my time, my labor, and my business. To have any of those things taken from me without my consent is nothing short of theft. As far as I'm concerned a private business owner doesn't have to serve me, hire me, work with me, or talk to me if he doesn't like my face, my faith, my hair color, or just the way I said hello. He has that right.

Yet again I find myself confused as to why there needs to be additional legislation indicating that no one can steal from me. Apparently, however, there are people who oppose this legislation, and not because it isn't needed, but because they believe that private business owners should not have the same rights as a private citizen (or perhaps that the rights of private citizens should be taken away from them, but you have to take baby steps here).

Historically speaking, there is an unfortunate precedent for doing exactly this: the civil rights movement. In perhaps one of the darkest hours in human history, a large group of people segregated, refused service to, raped, murdered, and terrorized another group of people due solely to the color of their skin. This was absolutely wrong, and the raping, murdering, and terrorizing parts were absolutely illegal.

In an effort to fight this horrific blight, the government effectively forced private business owners to serve everyone equally. While this action probably helped the problem with racism immensely, it also took away the rights of the individual. As wrong, bigoted, and hypocritical as it is to refuse to serve someone because of their skin color, it is also within the rights of a free man.

As long as one's foolishness and sinfulness do not impede upon another's rights to life, liberty, and property, then you should be welcome to keep them. I cannot possibly support racism or hatred in any form, and I believe those things to be absolutely stupid and wrong.

But, as I've already said, everyone has the right to be stupid.