It’s that time of year again: Girl Scout cookie time.
Cute little girls in sashes will turn up in droves at front steps and grocery stores to peddle their sugary wares.
No matter how broke I am, it is always hard to say no to those adorable kids.
Luckily, the money goes to a good cause and the cookies don’t hurt anything— anything but my waistline, that is.
A number of pro-life groups, including LifeNews and the American Life Foundation, would disagree.
They have launched Cookie Cott 2014, a campaign that encourages a boycott of Girl Scout cookies.
That’s right: no Thin Mints, no Samoas, no Do-Si-Dos.
A close look at the Cookie Cott website details the reasons behind this boycott.
These groups find fault with the partnership of Girl Scouts America and Planned Parenthood, a multimillion-dollar corporation that provides many other services besides abortion.
They also oppose GSA’s approval of pro-choice legislators like Wendy Davis [D-Fort Worth] and Kathleen Sebelius.
One of Cookie Cott’s slogans, featuring a group of three cookies underneath the words “Planned Parenthood + Girl Scouts = 1 bitter cookie,” is circulating among supporters on Facebook.
In and of itself, this boycott is all well and good.
As Americans we are lucky to live in a country where we are free to buy or not buy just about anything without the fear of being judged.
But those who oppose GSA for its ties with Planned Parenthood fervently enough to turn down those enterprising young girls at the front door might consider the partnerships of more common brands: Starbucks, Disney, Nike and Oreo, to name just a few.
There are things to be said about Disney and the messages its movies send to young children, but interestingly enough, those arguments never involve Planned Parenthood.
The most negative thing I have heard about Starbucks is that its prices are astronomical [true].
One does not often see protestors up in arms about Oreos or Nike tennis shoes.
As a former Girl Scout, I can vouch for the traits that GSA instills in girls during their formative years, traits like independence, leadership and initiative.
It took courage to knock on strangers’ doors.
Most people recognize that, along with the fact that they have a sweet tooth, and happily pledge their money knowing they’ve supported a good cause.
Certainly nobody in my church choir had a problem buying from the third-grader who crashed our practice Thursday night.
Anyone who wants to can boycott away. But, as far as I’m concerned, please pass the Thin Mints.
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