WARNING: What is about to follow will be an unedited stream of conciseness. I am sure I will ramble. I will not go back and proof. This is to prevent over thinking of the message I want you to hear. I know some of you are my journalist friends, some of you were grammar/English scholars. If you think it will make your palms too twitchy, stop now. ;)
Today's the day that has the social media world in an up-roar. The day everyone decides whether or not they will support Chick-Fil-A. Why? Because Truett Cathey is a Christian. He runs his restaurant chain based on his personal beliefs. SHAME ON HIM! Really?! That's what you believe? That's the best you have for why you don't want to partake in the deliciousness that is Chick-Fil-A? Have you ever had one of their sandwiches? It is (in my humble opinion), the best fast food chicken sandwich to be had. And, I should know... The two years I spent as a travelling sales rep, I spent an average of 180 days a year on the road eating non-home cooked meals and plenty of fast food.
This is what's wrong with politics in America these days. We boycott and support organizations for what's "politically correct". We need to stop being "Policitally Correct" and go back to governing our lives with common sense.
Let me impart some of my life experience on you... yes, it's limited. But here goes. I was 16 when I had my daughter. I went to a Christian college. I had a decent social life, but there were many who thought of me as an outcast or a lost cause because of the choice I made to bring her into this world. I could have crawled into a ball and said, "Oh no, the Christian Right is a terrible thing." You know what I did instead? I embraced it. (SIDEBAR... some of the people that perpetrated the above mentioned acts were not "right winged conservatives" but were "leftists"... surely I'm not the only person to be outcast by BOTH parties?!)
I'm a stronger person because of it. I sat in bible classes with professors who said I would burn in hell because not only had I had a child out of wedlock, but I was raised in a religion that learned the Rosary and prayed to graven images. I was called Satan (literally) by a person in a friend's church (during the church ceremony... nice). The next Sunday I was afraid to touch the Holy Water in my own church for fear it would boil... it did not and my Priest and I had a good laugh over it.
Did these experiences hurt as they happened? Yes. Do I hold it against the people that perpetrated them? No. I would not be who I am if these experiences had not happened. And, whatever you want to call it God, Allah, Fate, the power of the moon & sun upon my earthly being... there is a reason I had those experiences.
It gave me a perspective not to judge others regardless of if their choices were what I agreed with or not. It made me stong enough to be a successful business person. It has made me a successful mentor to various employees, associates, etc. I wouldn't take any of it back if I were given the choice.
It shouldn't be a surprise that the Cathey family holds these values. They are closed on Sundays. Their website says they are closed to allow employees time with friends and/or family to do as they wish, worship or not. Other companies closed on Sundays? Hobby Lobby, many auto-dealerships and liquor stores, most bridal businesses, florists, doctors offices, banks, government locations. There's an idea... let's boycott the welfare office because it isn't there on Sundays to issue food stamps to the person driving a Cadillac Escalade with $500 rims, toting the latest $300 Coach bag and sporting some kick-ass Nike's she paid full price for.
I'd never do that you say? That's my point.
Yes. I'll have a Chicken Sandwich today. Not because I give two hoots about Mr. Cathey's personal belief, but because I'll be in the mall. And a #7 grilled chicken sandwich with a side of yogurt instead of fries and some diet lemonade is the healthiest choice I'll have available. The manager behind the counter sees me coming and has it wrung up by the time I get there, because working in retail she sees me at her counter multiple times a week and she knows that's my standing order. I'll eat Chick-Fil-A today because I can afford to spend $8.67 on my lunch, I appreciate their customer service, and dog-gonnit nobody is going to tell me I can't!
