Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Chick-fil-A president shows no disrespect

Because someone stands behind traditional marriage doesn’t mean the person doesn’t respect other people’s choices and viewpoints. Labeling the person as homophobic is name calling and polarizing.  It shows disrespect for our national tradition and Constitution and for the person’s right to express personal viewpoints.

In a statement Chick-fil-A indicated: The Chick-fil-A culture and service tradition in our restaurants is to treat every person with honor, dignity and respect — regardless of their belief, race, creed, sexual orientation or gender. Going forward, our intent is to leave the policy debate over same-sex marriage to the government and political arena.
Chick-fil-A’s record suggests this statement is true. 
The comments that drew media attention and backlash addresses family values. Chick-fil-A’s president, Dan Cathy, never says anything to criticize homosexuality or gay marriage.
Here is Cathy’s statement to Biblical Reporter, published July 2. When asked about the company’s support for traditional marriage, he says: “Well, guilty as charged. 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 operate as a family business … our restaurants are typically led by families — some are single. We want to do anything we possibly can to strengthen families. We are very much committed to that. … We intend to stay the course. 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.”
In an earlier statement taken out of context “Cathy made some wide-ranging remarks about the family in general and about his own father in particular—remarks which had no reference to homosexuality.”
The U.S. Constitution and American tradition respect the right to express varying viewpoints.  In an effort to be politically correct some people forget that this applies to all viewpoints and in some cases both viewpoints. In the media and on Facebook I have read a lot of vitriol against Chick-fil-A. It’s obvious the authors don’t even know what Dan Cathy said or what the company stands for.