You may not know what to buy this Christmas, but do you know where to buy? Thanks to our friends at 2nd Vote, you can shop for presents without sabotaging your values in the process. So, make your list -- but check this one twice!
"The idea," Dr. David Black explained on "Washington Watch," "is that the first vote is at the ballot box. The second vote is the dollar you spend every day... As Christians, we need to make sure that the money we're spending isn't going to a place that's attacking our faith and values." For a lot of Americans, that hit very close to home with the news that Chick-fil-A, a company that enjoyed great success marketing itself as a business that operates by biblical principles, was quietly funding radical abortion and LGBT activists. This was so troubling to 2nd Vote, Dr. Black says, that on its five-point scoring system, the company's score on social issues (marriage, life, and religious liberty) dropped from a five score (the highest) to a one (the lowest).
Unfortunately, Dr. Black points out, Chick-fil-A -- like so many successful businesses -- have fallen under the influence of LGBT activists. "They may be a small minority, but they are very well organized. They're also very, very well-financed. They have spent many, many years -- decades, really -- presenting themselves as normal... and there's been a sustained, well-financed, well organized effort to try to show that this is okay." And when pressure comes to bear, as it recently has on Hallmark, the first reaction is often to surrender. "As Christians, we have been tolerant. We've been accepting. We've tried to be understanding." And that's led to this widespread capitulation of truth in the business and entertainment communities.
Most shoppers can't even walk through the store anymore without being hit over the head with a radical social agenda. Transgender Oreos with a pronoun guide? LGBT pride Listerine? And dozens more. Businesses, former Walmart CEO Bill Simon told me, "are taking positions on things that I honestly wouldn't think [any business would take a position on, because] invariably [it alienates] a large customer base in one direction or the other."
The good news, Dr. Black says, is that we can make a difference. "Look what the LGBT community has done [with] three percent of the population!" he pointed out. Christians are a much larger demographic -- but the problem with our community is that "we haven't spoken up. We've got to try it."
Some people will say, "We'll be naked and hungry if we stop shopping at every place with a liberal agenda. Why bother?" But just because you can't steward everything doesn't mean you shouldn't steward anything. A single donation can't end hunger either, but that doesn't mean we don't contribute at all. Let's face it -- we can all stand to make more informed choices with where to eat, places to shop, and what to watch. If there isn't a conservative option, there's almost certainly a neutral one.
And to people who say these choices don't matter? Dr. Black begs to differ. "We have helped to stop five Fortune 500 companies from funding abortion," he says. Not to mention the message parents sent to Target over the bathroom policy, or J.C. Penney, Lands End, Kellogg's, ESPN, the NFL, and others disparaging our freedoms. If you won't take Dr. Black's word for it, take a former CEO's.
"The very, very best way you can communicate your concern is with your wallet," Bill Simon urged. "Ultimately, that's what companies do. They're in business to make money, reward their shareholders, and pay their employees. And when the company does something that you don't agree with -- or their product represents something that you don't agree with -- the simple answer is to not buy it or not participate. And that's honestly the loudest voice that a customer can deliver to a company is, 'I choose not to buy your product.'"
"A three percent change in sales of a company or a five percent change in the sales company will make a huge statement. It doesn't take a lot of people to stop buying product or to stop going to a retailer or a restaurant or whatever it is for them to notice because a couple of percentage points is win or lose for a company."
But make sure that when you stop doing business with companies that attack your values, send a letter telling them so. I've heard from people at the highest levels of these companies that messages like that speak powerfully to them. Don't let your money be used against you. This season, shop -- but don't drop -- your values! Download the 2nd Vote app today.