Starbucks Red Cup

One of the worst things about social media is the hysteria is creates over the silliest things.  The latest hysteria involves the Starbucks red holiday cup.  Apparently Joshua Feuerstein, an American evangelist who is known for polarizing people using religious topics , posted a short video rant against Starbucks for not placing the words "Merry Christmas" on their cups.  This video lasts barely longer than a minute, yet has managed to offend both Christians and non-Christians alike.  The posts on Facebook are once again portraying Christians as idiots who don't think.   So, well done Mr. Feuerstein, you've increased your Facebook presence at the expense of common sense and civility.  What I'd like to know is who appointed this man as the official spokesman for Christianity?  Why do so many people believe that because this man expressed his OPINION, that every Christian in the country shares his OPINION simply based on the fact that we are Christians?  This is getting ridiculous.

Seeing the posts on Facebook bashing ALL Christians and spewing false information really sets me off.  When people who have a problem with the color of the cup that their $5 coffee is poured into, they really have no idea what real problems are.  They are definitely suffering from first world problems.  I'm serving in a country where women have no rights or value in society.  They are restricted in everything they do from the clothes they are allowed to wear to the places they may go.  I live in a country where the poor have to sneak out at night to get firewood from the forests to heat their homes because if they did this during the day they would be arrested.  These people work from sunup to sundown on their land trying to produce enough food to feed their families.  They can't work any longer or harder than they already do.  Yet their food production frequently falls short of their needs.   This results in crushing hardships for them such as not being able to afford shoes for their children or medical care.  These are not lazy people.  They are people trapped by poverty, low education, and idiotic, centuries-old mindsets.  These are real problems.  If you gave them a cup of coffee, they wouldn't care what color the cup is; they would be grateful to have a coffee.

This paragraph is for those who insist sharing inflammatory posts.  The next time you feel led to share a post whose purpose is solely to inflame emotions at the expense of a group of people, please stop and ask yourself if the subject of your post REALLY a problem. Please fact check your post also.  So many posts are filled with misinformation or even worse, made-up information.  Sharing misinformation and falsehoods makes you look like a fool and you are simply perpetuating the problem of ignorance.

This paragraph is for those people who can see the big picture.  If you truly want to make a difference, do it behind the scenes.  You don't have to go and serve in a foreign country. Take $5 per month from your coffee budget and at the end of the year, use that money to support an organization whose sole purpose is to lift people out of poverty.  Do your research on this and choose your non-profit wisely.  I highly recommend Heifer International.  After visiting a slum five years after Heifer International had provided the residents with ducks,  I saw firsthand how the income from duck eggs has changed the lives of the residents.  The money saved from one or two cups of coffee a month can buy flocks of chickens, geese, or ducks as well as rabbits (the world's cheapest form of protein and quickest turnaround from birth to slaughter) or even a goat.  Please note, I do NOT recommend water buffalo, cows, or sheep because the children are the ones that watch these animals during the day and this means the children would not have an opportunity to attend school.

So, if you're seeing red over this stupid controversy about the color of a disposable coffee cup, I encourage you show your love by helping someone out of poverty.  Another alternative is to just be nice.  And civil.  Let's stop perpetuating stupidity and ignorance.