Showing posts with label miscellany. Show all posts
Showing posts with label miscellany. Show all posts

Monday, May 7, 2007

What's on your coffee cup?

"World's Best Dad"? "Soccer Mom"? Some business logo? Footprints?

How about this?:

"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."

This quote, from a man named Bill Schell, is what an Ohio Catholic found on the side of her Starbucks cup (my apologies, readers, for linking to WorldNetDaily). And she's not happy about it.

Here's my question: Why should something like this be so offensive, particularly when it may generate discussion, as Starbucks says is its goal in offering these cups as part of a campaign called, "The Way I See It"? And is the complaining Starbucks customer aware of another cup with an overtly religious quote from Pastor Rick Warren? More importantly, is she aware that the vast majority of the quotes on these cups have nothing to do with religion?

I don't want to sound like a Starbucks cheerleader here. After all, Starbucks undoubtedly designed the cups to generate publicity. But, in my mind, this controversy is just another example of modern day outrage that is produced only because of a lack of context.