Well everyone else has chimed in on the Chick-Fil-A hubbub and I guess I should not leave my two readers in the dark about my thoughts. It is easy to get caught up in the turmoil and it is easy to choose a side very quickly as evident by the huge crowds at many Chick-Fil-A restaurants around the country. It is easy to stand with a crowd either opposing or supporting something as long as there is a crowd at your back. I learned a long time ago its much harder to stand for what is right particularly when your friends have positioned themselves on a particular side that you are not so sure about, harder still is to be standing on the right side of an issue for the right reasons.
Personally and religiously I am opposed to gay marriage, personally and religiously I consider such a lifestyle a sin, a moral failure, not unlike drug addiction, alcohol abuse, pre-marital sex, or telling a lie. These are things that CHRISTIANS should not do, but non-Christians have no such command, no such requirement, and no such creed. As fellow Americans though, I want all to have the rights afforded to any citizen of this country; straight or gay, Christian, Muslim, or Atheist, Black, Hispanic, or white, all equal. So you will not find me protesting against gays married or otherwise.
Why then if I had lived in Atlanta or any other city that is blessed to have a Chick-Fil-A would I have been counted among the protesters? Why was I so tempted to drive 4 hours to the closest Chick-Fil-A for a $6.00 meal that likely would have come with cold French fries and no room to set, other than I know it sets right next door to a Starbucks?
Not because others denounced Mr. Cathy’s speech, not because some citizens objected or took difference with his opinion, not because I might agree with Mr. Cathy on what righteous living looks like. I would join the protest because certain Government representatives threatened Mr. Cathy’s rights solely for what he said and for beliefs he holds.
Chicago Alderman “Joe” Moreno said that he would block Chick-Fil-A’s effort to build a store in his precinct while Rahm Emmanuel, Mayor of Chicago lent support to Moreno comments. Tom Menino, Mayor of Boston said in a letter to Chick Fil A “… I urge you to back out of your plans to locate in Boston.” Christine Quinn wrote to NYU President asking the school to boot the Chick-Fil-A location from its campus, Quinn is a New York City council member, and its speaker. All of this clamoring was brought about not because Mr. Cathy violated a single individual’s rights but because of how he answered a public question.
It is not less freedom that is needed in this country but more, by seeking more freedom we preserve those rights for everyone. My gay fellow citizens should have the same rights I value but we don’t acquire them by limiting Mr. Cathy’s. We don’t acquire them by granting special rights either. We keep them by defending them when the Government says they might take them away. We keep freedom by continually demanding less from government, not by seeking more from it.
The interesting thing is if those protesting in defense of traditional marriage were to go home, if they dropped their protest signs and quit there would have still been a few supporters of Mr. Cathy’s left setting together. You’d be surprised at who would be sharing a table and a few cold fries. You see this time the ACLU has Mr. Cathy’s back, this time I bet it was a little harder for them to join than it would have been for me, but I think they got it right and for the right reasons, wish I could have stood beside them.
David
