Chick-fil-A and Blatant Hypocrisy

Tomorrow is Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day, and I'm so there.  Over the years, Chick-fil-A has earned my support with their quality food and adherence to their religious principles, specifically in remaining closed on Sundays as an obedience to God, and in their never-ending support of charitable organizations. Some of those organizations are church-based and, as such, oppose same sex marriage. Does that make them anti-gay by extension? No, but it has made them the latest whipping boy of the Left and exposed both Democrats and the gay community as hypocrites and bigots.  Yes, bigots.  Why? Their outrage is selective, focused, in this instance, on a Christian-based company that has never discriminated against any homosexual for employment or service and whose only crime is in financially supporting non-profit organizations, some of which are strong proponents of traditional marriage.

Chick-fil-A, a private business, is being publicly demonized because the owner & CEO runs his company according to his religious values, something he has done for the entire life of the corporation. Last time I checked, that wasn't illegal in this country.  It is, in fact, a freedom guaranteed by the Constitution and Bill of Rights of this great country.  Do you have to go there?  Absolutely not.  Do you have the right to protest?  Sure.  But be careful what you expose about yourself in the process.

Chick-fil-A does not stand alone in its adherence to religious principles regarding marriage.  If you are one of those gnashing your teeth and pointing fingers at them, let me ask you a few questions ....

Do you rant and protest against Islam?  They stone people to death, marry underage girls, amputate limbs as punishment, kill homosexuals, kill anyone who doesn't believe their religion, treat women as slaves to be mutilated or killed at will, and make it their life's goal to destroy Israel. Let me call attention again to the KILL HOMOSEXUALS part.  Do you protest Islam? Do you seek out Islamic businesses to boycott? Did you even protest against the proposed mosque near Ground Zero? They don’t just support traditional marriage, they support KILLING homosexuals. And you’re protesting Chick-fil-A?

Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy admitted that his company strongly supports the Biblical definition of the family unit. So? He is entitled to his opinion; he is entitled to his religious beliefs. He is entitled to run his company according to those beliefs. He has admitted to being “guilty as charged” in his support of traditional marriage. At no time has he said anything against homosexuality …. Just like President Obama.

Did you rant and protest against President Obama for the last four years? Did you vote for him, even though he outspokenly said he believed marriage is between a man and a woman? Until this year…an election year...that was his belief.  But now he has magically “evolved” on this issue. If he had been a Republican would you have spent the last four years pointing fingers and calling him anti-gay (like has been done to McCain, Romney, Palin, etc) and, when he changed his mind, switch to calling him an opportunist for having this 11^th hour conversion?  And again, you're boycotting Chick-fil-A?

And finally, this notion that if you do not support something you hate it is insulting and ridiculous.  I like the Broncos, so that means I hate the Cowboys?  Hardly.  Not supporting is not the same as hating.  It’s simply not.  If I disagree with you, it doesn’t mean I hate you.  It means I disagree with you.  I can love my gay friends and still respect religious beliefs and the history of traditional marriage. Yes, some cultures used to trade livestock for marriageable daughters. But they did not trade their sons. And yes, the damage done to our culture by those who think marriage is no longer necessary to our society, celebrities who all but mock marriage, and the over-abundance of divorces has been substantial. But that does not mean we as a society should have a “do over” in defining marriage as something it has never been.

I love my gay friends. I want them to be happy in long-term relationships if that is what they want, and nothing in our society prevents that today.  But the issue of gay marriage isn’t about “equality.” It stopped being about equality 20 years ago when the gay communities of California spit on civil union legislation that gave them full and equal benefits to traditionally married couples. Civil unions were then and are now a fair compromise for those who truly want benefits. Those who continue to scream “separate but equal” ignore and insult the civil rights fight of the 60s. Homosexuals are not forced to sit in the back of the bus, or forbidden to sit at lunch counters, or prevented from using public restroom facilities, or made to go to specifically gay schools. Blacks were, and it took decades to compromise and work through these restrictions and come to the Civil Rights Act (which, FYI, was written and supported by Republicans and opposed by Democrats).

Today, those who promote a gay agenda don’t appear to be interested in equal benefits. They want forced acceptance of gay marriage as identical to traditional marriage, and they are not above bullying tactics to achieve that goal. The subtext of this mock outrage at Chick-fil-A is sininster …. support what we want or we will try to destroy you.

The reality is that forced national acceptance of gay marriage infringes on the religious beliefs of more than half the country. Gay activists appear to be unwilling to compromise in any way.  I find that unbelievably sad because had the gay community of California compromised on civil unions 20 years ago, I firmly believe that all states would now have such legislation. So we are left with what we have now, of the few states that have gay marriage, most have been legislated from the judicial bench rather than voted for by the people themselves and benefits are still so far on the horizon it can't be seen in our country's future.

As for Chick-fil-A, in general Americans don’t like bullies, and that's what this has become...bullies trying to harm a business that has done nothing to them personally but operates on religious principles.  And that’s why tomorrow will be the biggest day ever for Chick-fil-A. I hope they are ready for the huge turnout of support they will be receiving.

The Obamacare Brownies

Have you ever heard the story of the father who made his kids "special" brownies? It goes like this, a man's children wanted to go to a move that was rated R because it had profanity in it. The father objected, but the kids pleaded, "Dad, it only has a little profanity in it, so that shouldn't matter much." So the father acquiesced. When the kids got home, their father had made them a beautiful plate of brownies, and they dug right in. After a few bites they stopped. The brownies were awful. "Dad, these brownies taste like they have dog poop in them." The father smiled proudly, "They do. But it's only a little dog poop, so it shouldn't matter much."

This is how I look at Obamacare. Just because it has chocolate chips and colorful sprinkles on top (pre-existing conditions, etc.), doesn't mean that at it's core there is dog poop in the bill (government control of the industry, etc.) ... lots and lots of dog poop. And you're being forced to either eat them or pay a tax for not eating them, not to mention there are taxes on lots of the ingredients like sugar and flour and eggs.

Do you want to eat those brownies?