Chick-Fil-A Controversy

By now, just about everyone has heard about the firestorm Chick-fil-a is currently in when the restaurant President Dan Cathy took a stand against gay marriage stating that they are “supportive of family-the Biblical definition of the family unit.” Naturally, this created an onset of media attacks and fury from many people. What amazes me in this story is the hypocrisy of the entire situation. Since when is it not ok to stand up for what you believe in? Not everyone in this country is going to agree on everything, but that does not mean that they do not have the right to voice their opinion.

 In fact, some of the individuals currently against Chick-fil-a have been downright tasteless in their comments and show their lack of class all together such as Roseanne Barr’s comment that “anyone who eats Chick-fil-a (I omitted the slur) deserves to get the cancer.” On top of that, even government officials such as Democratic politician Rahm Emanuel have stated that he will use the government to “punish Chick-fil-a.” Even the Mayor of Boston, Massachusetts, Thomas Menino is working to block Chick-fil-a from opening a location in their city.

Personally, I commend Chick-fil-a for standing up for what they believe in. I’m sure individuals who do lead gay/lesbian/transgender/bisexual lifestyles are proud of themselves for standing up for their beliefs, so why is it not acceptable for someone else to do the same? Chick-fil-a is not discriminating against them by refusing to serve or hire them, but simply saying they see marriage differently. Chick-fil-a has a long history of building its business on integrity and Biblical principals; and in this country we are blessed to have the freedom of speech and religion. These freedoms are not only for a select few, but for everyone, REGARDLESS of race, creed, gender, or sexual orientation.

 In a world where we are so focused on anti-bullying tactics, can everyone not see what this really is? It is nothing more than large scale bullying by adults who are supposed to be able to set examples to the younger generation in how to treat others. What kind of message do you think our children are learning? They are learning that if someone does not agree with you, it is ok to publically attack them and attempt to ‘punish’ them until they conform to the standards that someone else has deemed acceptable.

 I’m sure that I will get some flack for this post, but I’m not too concerned with that. I think that if we spent more of our time building others up and respecting each other, no matter which side of the fence we are on when it comes to important issues like this, we would all be setting a much better example for our children and society around us.

The bottom line is this: Chick-fil-a has done nothing wrong to deserve such a negative outcry from the public and government officials. Personally, I agree with the Biblical version of marriage, but I would never say that someone who believes different needed to be ‘punished’ or slandered. It is my thought that everyone does love, kindness, and respect. Treat others the way you would want to be treated.  Plain and simple.

Just some food for thought!