Yeah, hair-splitting aside, I don't think it matters. No one should be forced to accommodate someone else against their will, regardless of their reason for refusing.
And I sincerely wish we lived in a country where that was a legitimate option.
It's the only legitimate option for a free society
It's the only legitimate option for a free society
Derp...
But then the society is only free to those who are accommodated.
That becomes problematic in a country where the founding principles are equality and freedom.
Freedom doesn't mean you will be accommodated. That's a false conception of freedom that undermines actual liberty.
Also, "equality" is not a founding premise. Maybe you're thinking of "equal rights under the law", an entirely different concern.
How free is someone if they cannot get a job, buy a home, educate themselves or their family, seek healthcare, buy supplies or groceries, travel freely, etc?
You're mixing up a lot of shit here. But mostly, you're conflating freedom and empowerment. They're not the same thing. The freedom to seek employment doesn't mean you'll find a job. The freedom to buy a home doesn't mean you'll be able to afford one. Just like freedom of speech doesn't mean anyone will listen to you, or post your shit on their website.
Without accommodation, a person can be completely disenfranchised from society. We’ve certainly seen this to be true.
I suppose so. If ALL of society refused to accommodate a person, that would be the case. But if that ever actually happened, what kind of person would we be talking about? How deplorable would someone have to be for ALL of society to refuse to associate with them? And why would you want to force people to accommodate such a person?
Equality is perhaps the foremost founding principle. Without it. No one is free if anyone can be disenfranchised.
You seem to have a radically different conception of freedom. Political freedom means you can't be arrested for doing something. It doesn't mean other people have to cater to your wishes.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
Note that life, liberty and happiness come after equality.
Note also that it doesn't say all men
are equal. Says they were created equal. It means they have equal rights, that they all have equal status under the law. Not that everyone must be equally empowered by society.
The crazy thing about the "equal empowerment" notion, is that it actually undermines equal rights under the law. In order for government to ensure that everyone is equally empowered it inevitably treats people differently.