We Went to Chick-Fil-A

So the other week there was this big controversy over quotes concerning the definition marriage by the President of Chick-Fil-A.

Many people got very upset about this and hurled many negative, hurtful, threatening, and hostile remarks about Mr. Cathy and the Chick-Fil-A restaurants. Unfortunately, many of the remarks were ill-informed. The biggest thing I wish in any disagreement is that people come to the debate well-informed, ready to address the issue and not reduce it to a mud-slinging, name-calling affair.

Here is the quote from the President of Chick-Fil-A:

"We are very much supportive of the family -- the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that … We want to do anything we possibly can to strengthen families. We are very much committed to that."

Somehow, it got turned into the equivalent of a 1950's segregation stance. Nowhere in his quote did he say "we don't want homosexuals in our restaurant" or "we don't want business from those kind of people." However, the feedback of comments seen on twitter and facebook sure made it seem that way. Mr. Cathy is living out his values and our lives should reflect what we believe. If you hadn't noticed, Chick-Fil-A isn't open on Sundays because of this.

The one thing that I will completely respect from the dissenters is their choice to not support Chick-Fil-A through a boycott and to voice this dissension. However, I completely disagree with the negativity aimed at Mr. Cathy and the restaurant because they are simply stating what they believe. How would you feel if someone belittled you for what you believe? And, as was seen, the response to the declared boycott brought many people out in support of Chick-Fil-A. I guess it can work both ways.

I'm all for debates and arguments. But let's stick to the facts and be sure to attack the issue and not the person.

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Oh yeah, where this was all going was that Beth and I ended up going to Chick-Fil-A on the conservative talk show established "Chick-Fil-A Appreciation Day." (Note, it was not established by the restaurant but rather by citizens). We were on our way down to California University of Pennsylvania for a great talk that featured TWO big-time runners, Chris Solinsky and Amy Rudolph, at their high school cross country camp. Rudolph was a two-time Olympian and Solinsky broke the American 10k record and would have probably been in London for the Olympics if it wasn't for an injury. How did those two end up at the same cross country camp in rural southwestern PA during the olympics? Great motivation and inspiration from two people at the top of the sport.

Anyway, Beth and I needed to grab dinner and we have a calendar of coupons that we got back in January for "The Chick" because we really like their food. So, we used our August coupon and waited in some really long lines but it felt worth it to show our support for a company that we believe in their morals and where we also really like their food.

Again, all I ask of the many facebook and twitter and bloggers and whoever out there: feel free to disagree--that's an American value and right. However, make sure to hold debate and discord in a well-informed way that addresses the issue and does not attack the individual.