Coffee Credos
DIH came across this this morning:
"An Ohio woman is steaming after reading an anti-God message published on the side of a Starbucks coffee cup.
The message that got Michelle Incanno's blood boiling reads:
"Why in moments of crisis do we ask God for strength and help? As cognitive beings, why would we ask something that may well be a figment of our imaginations for guidance? Why not search inside ourselves for the power to overcome? After all, we are strong enough to cause most of the catastrophes we need to endure.'
"The quote was written by Bill Schell, a Starbucks customer from London, Ontario, Canada, and was included as part of an effort by the Seattle-based coffee giant to collect different viewpoints and spur discussion.
"As someone who loves God, I was so offended by that," Michelle Incanno, a married mother of three who is Catholic, told the Dayton Daily News. "I don't think there needs to be religious dialogue on it. I just want coffee."
Hm. My first reaction was maybe Michelle should switch to decaf. DIH cannot remember the last time she got hot under the collar over a statement by a Canadian.
Still, I was intrigued. So Starbucks is handing out words of wisdom, huh? I must be really behind the curve. That's what I get for being a tea-drinker, I guess.
So in the interest of catching up with the zeitgeist, I stopped at a local Starbucks this a.m. and picked up a few cups.
Here are today's words of wisdom, courtesy of the very nice girl behind the counter:
(large regular) "The Way I See It, #245: A person's pursuit of goodness leads to greatness, but the pursuit of greatness leads to ruin.' [You know. like that loser Muhammed Ali.] Pursue goodness and you will achieve great things." That's from John E. Kramer, Vice President of Communications, Institute for Justice. Well, all I can say is if I were somebody's vice president, I'd probably want to comfort myself too. Who needs all that president stuff? Not John. Not Al Gore. Not a whole list of other also-rans. Incidentally, the Institute for Justice is a law firm. Show of hands, please: how many would feel comfortable hiring a law firm whose website's personnel page is called "Meet the Merry Band"?
(large black) "The Way I See It, #239: It takes two seconds to tell the truth and it costs nothing. A lie takes time and costs everything." -Randi Rhodes, Radio Host. "Her program," the cup helpfully adds., "is heard on Air America."
Sound advice, Randi. One question, though- didn't you guys lie your heads off about being bankrupt a few weeks back?
(extra large decaf) "TWIS #250: In reality, hell is not such an intention of God as it is an invention of man." [Is man stupid, or what?] "God is love and people are precious.' [Wonder if that includes unborn people. I'll have to aks.] 'Authentic truth is not so much taught or learned as it is remembered. Somewhere in your pre-incarnate consciousness you were loved absolutely because you were." [Ken Wilber and all you other new-age gurus: call your offices. I think somebody owes you a little money here.] This quotation comes from Bishop Carlton Pearson, "author, speaker, spiritual leader and recording artist." Quite a resume you got there, Bishop. Somewhere Elvis is jealous, I bet.
"An Ohio woman is steaming after reading an anti-God message published on the side of a Starbucks coffee cup.
The message that got Michelle Incanno's blood boiling reads:
"Why in moments of crisis do we ask God for strength and help? As cognitive beings, why would we ask something that may well be a figment of our imaginations for guidance? Why not search inside ourselves for the power to overcome? After all, we are strong enough to cause most of the catastrophes we need to endure.'
"The quote was written by Bill Schell, a Starbucks customer from London, Ontario, Canada, and was included as part of an effort by the Seattle-based coffee giant to collect different viewpoints and spur discussion.
"As someone who loves God, I was so offended by that," Michelle Incanno, a married mother of three who is Catholic, told the Dayton Daily News. "I don't think there needs to be religious dialogue on it. I just want coffee."
Hm. My first reaction was maybe Michelle should switch to decaf. DIH cannot remember the last time she got hot under the collar over a statement by a Canadian.
Still, I was intrigued. So Starbucks is handing out words of wisdom, huh? I must be really behind the curve. That's what I get for being a tea-drinker, I guess.
So in the interest of catching up with the zeitgeist, I stopped at a local Starbucks this a.m. and picked up a few cups.
Here are today's words of wisdom, courtesy of the very nice girl behind the counter:
(large regular) "The Way I See It, #245: A person's pursuit of goodness leads to greatness, but the pursuit of greatness leads to ruin.' [You know. like that loser Muhammed Ali.] Pursue goodness and you will achieve great things." That's from John E. Kramer, Vice President of Communications, Institute for Justice. Well, all I can say is if I were somebody's vice president, I'd probably want to comfort myself too. Who needs all that president stuff? Not John. Not Al Gore. Not a whole list of other also-rans. Incidentally, the Institute for Justice is a law firm. Show of hands, please: how many would feel comfortable hiring a law firm whose website's personnel page is called "Meet the Merry Band"?
(large black) "The Way I See It, #239: It takes two seconds to tell the truth and it costs nothing. A lie takes time and costs everything." -Randi Rhodes, Radio Host. "Her program," the cup helpfully adds., "is heard on Air America."
Sound advice, Randi. One question, though- didn't you guys lie your heads off about being bankrupt a few weeks back?
(extra large decaf) "TWIS #250: In reality, hell is not such an intention of God as it is an invention of man." [Is man stupid, or what?] "God is love and people are precious.' [Wonder if that includes unborn people. I'll have to aks.] 'Authentic truth is not so much taught or learned as it is remembered. Somewhere in your pre-incarnate consciousness you were loved absolutely because you were." [Ken Wilber and all you other new-age gurus: call your offices. I think somebody owes you a little money here.] This quotation comes from Bishop Carlton Pearson, "author, speaker, spiritual leader and recording artist." Quite a resume you got there, Bishop. Somewhere Elvis is jealous, I bet.
So the cups they use are getting weird (and occasionally offensive). Like you, I wouldn't have known if it weren't for news and blogs.
ReplyDeleteI was already offended by their sawdust scones and exorbitant prices before their cups began to wax philosophical. I already patronize them as little as possible.
There's always THIS coffee:
ReplyDeletehttp://contracafe.com/
-J.
Last week I purchased the largest size decaf at Starbucks and later noticed the same offensive message as Michelle Incanno. All I wanted was a fresh cup of coffee. My co-workers read the quote and also found it inappropriate. Guess from now on I'll bring fresh ground coffee from home and make it at work myself. At least our paper cups are plain and don't offend anyone.
ReplyDeleteApril
I think this is all much ado about nothing. It's a coffee cup, for goodness' sake! You'll throw it away when you're finished!
ReplyDeleteBesides, Jonah Goldberg got a cup, too. He was part of the first batch of them last year. So they aren't just getting crazy, atheist lefties.
There are so many bigger fish to fry. I'm not boycotting Starbucks because of it. In fact, I'll be buying a big bottle of their peppermint syrup to squirt into my coffee at home. (Home-made peppermint mochas!) And on Sunday, we'll still probably go there while the kids are at CCD and have a little Sunday date.
Seriously, are we going to join the "I'm-too-sensitive-to-hear-criticisms" bunch? Didn't the martyrs bear much more than this with joy in their hearts? Let's not cause people to sigh, "Get a life!" at us, okay?
I love your writings and I know you read (and write for) National Review, so maybe you'd be interested in knowing that the Institute for Justice is not a lefty social justice group, but an honest-to-God advocacy organization for the free market and private property rights. Their former head, Clint Bolick received one of last year's Bradley Prizes for his work for Parental School Choice. They do good work, even if you think the quote is silly.
ReplyDeleteJan- thanks for the info! Shows how much you can trust the Internet, huh.
ReplyDelete