The Chick-fil-A Marriage Controversy: A Matter of Civil Rights or Free Speech?
In the 21st century, the definition of marriage has become political to a degree it never was before. The current controversy surrounding the fast food chain, Chick-fil-A, about its values, has prompted accusations of intolerance and discrimination of the gay community. Gay rights activists have been calling for protests and boycott movements aimed at the company. These activists feel their civil rights are being violated by Chick-fil-A. Moreover, they are worried that the company's stance on traditional marriage (between a man and a woman) propagates intolerance and discrimination of the gay community, in the hearts and minds of our society.
The Chick-fil-A marriage controversy merits our attention because accusations of discrimination, intolerance, and hate, are deadly serious. The shadow of the Holocaust lurks in the minds of people who feel their rights and safety are in jeopardy because they belong to a category (be it religious, ethnic, racial, or in this case, sexual orientation) of people viewed as outside the traditionally accepted in society. We must first match the accusations against the evidence. Then, we can decide for ourselves whether or not Chick-fil-A's promotion of traditional marriage and family violates the rights and safety of the gay community.
Dan Cathy, C.E.O of Chick-fil-A, was interviewed by the Biblical Recorder on July 2, and gave the following responses to questioning about his company's values:
“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 know that it might not be popular with everyone, but thank the
Lord we live in a country where we can share our values and operate on
biblical principles”.
The above statement was the fire that lit the controversy and the accusations of hate, intolerance, and discrimination. Therefore, we are forced to ask ourselves if the heartfelt belief that the traditional and biblical definition of marriage and the family unit is a message of hate, intolerance, and/or discrimination. Some people think it is.
The Jim Henson Company has announced it will dissolve its partnership with Chick-fil-A by ceasing to have the fast food chain carry its toys with kids' meals. Its facebook page carries the following statement:
"The Jim Henson Co. has celebrated and embraced diversity and
inclusiveness for over 50 years and we have notified Chick-fil-A that we
do not wish to partner with them on any future endeavors.”
Television actor, Ed Helms (The Office) tweeted, “Chick-fil-A doesn’t like gay people? So lame." He added,
"Hate to think what they do to the gay chickens! Lost a loyal fan."
Prominent politicians have joined in the criticism of Chick-fil-A's stance on marriage. Boston Mayor Thomas Menino opposes Chick-fil-A's plan to open a store in his city. “Chick-fil-A doesn’t belong in Boston. You can’t have a business in the city of Boston that discriminates against a population. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel echoed the same sentiment, "Chick-fil-A’s values are not Chicago values” he explained "they’re not respectful of our residents, our neighbors and our family members.”
An objective observer must ask if Chick-fil-A has discriminated against sexual orientation in their hiring practices and in their customer service. If they have not done so, than the charges of hate, discrimination, and intolerance, fall flat. If at the end of the day, all we are left with is a First Amendment-protected statement of a company's values, than we must consider the possibility that the threats, protests, and boycotts of Chick-fil-A are an attempt to silence free speech.
Free speech is a hallmark of the freedom of the American people. To silence free speech is a hallmark of Fascism. If the leaders of Chick-fil-A, a large cultural icon, are bullied into silencing their free speech, how can the health of American freedom and democracy be improved? In this country, we have the right to say what we believe. The minute we give up that right, we cease to be Americans.
Jason A.
Right on the mark Jason. If the CEO's remarks don't translate to discrimination agaisnt employees or customers then who cares.It will be interesting to see though because my experience has been that people with strong convictions are less tolerant than those without.
ReplyDeleteYou raise a good point, but it may not be the "convictions" that lead to intolerance, but rather, the "motive" driving the convictions. Good motives breed good convictions; bad motives breed bad convictions.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the post! What I have been hearing though is that aside from the obvious issue at hand, apparently Chick-fil-a uses money to fund programs that discriminate against gay people. They have programs for kids and teenagers and for the teens going through this problem, they attempt to 'pray away the gay'. Again, I support Chick-fil-a completely and I do not believe in gay marriage but these are just some of the things going around and may explain why a lot of people are upset. Honestly, I think the whole thing has been blown out of proportion and I my wish is that everyone would just agree to disagree and be thankful that we live in a country where all this free speech is possible!!
ReplyDeleteOne of the hardest things to do in a pluralistic culture is to find moral common ground. It's one thing to be shouting "free speech! free speech!" and another thing to actually have it. Will the time come when what Cathy said in his interview be considered on par with yelling "fire!" in a crowded room? Is this the beginning of the end of free speech as we know it? It "tolerance" going to be an ideal that becomes more important than free speech? Only time will tell.
ReplyDeleteExcellent Point! There are too many people who only care about their own constitutional rights, and not the constitutional rights of others. Constitutional liberties can not be advanced by upholding them for some people, and not for others. It must be upheld for everyone, across the spectrum. I think we are approaching the point where our feelings are so sensitive, we are equating "disagreement" with "intolerance." This is an unfortunate state of affairs.
ReplyDelete