Chicken Anyone?

It was a few weeks ago while I was on Facebook that I became aware of the most recent Chick-fil-A debate. I was confused at first as to what was going on because of certain meme's I saw (such as the one posted below). After I researched what was going on I thought it was funny the few people that were making, what I thought at the time to be, a big deal out of something very small. Boy was I wrong! The days following put this event at the top of the media charts! Government officials threatening to ban the restaurants from expanding, boycotts, and overwhelming support both for and against the fast food chain. I couldn't believe what came from this one mans personal opinion.

One of the government officials that came out swinging against Chick-fil-A was Chicago's own mayor who threatened to end the companies business in Chicago saying "their values are not 'Chicago values'." Our beloved Archbishop Cardinal George addressed the mayors comments in a blog post that also made the local news (to which of course the mayor did not respond). Cardinal George asked the simple question "since when does the government get to decide my value system?"

What still confuses me is why we are all fighting over who to blame for this controversy. Do we blame Mr. Cathy (CEO of Chick-fil-A)? Do we blame the entire Chick-fil-A corporation? Or do we blame our government? Why do we need to blame anyone? What is there to assign blame for? All a man did was speak his mind. Why is there a need to feel like protesting and boycotting and even celebrating the fact that a man had the courage to share his opinion?! What that says to me is we live in a society where people are afraid to speak their mind.

I have always been a "loud mouth" and my father is always quick to remind me. I always speak my mind and share my opinions. But seeing how the country has reacted to this recent announcement has caused me to think that speaking your mind isn't normal. I say this because of the debates and arguments that have come from Mr. Cathy taking a public stance on the definition of marriage. The names he has been called, the attacks on his business, the support of his business, and the political questioning are just mind boggling to me. Mr. Cathy probably had no idea how much his words would impact the nation and his company.

Personally, I applaud Mr. Cathy! Not just for his stance on the definition of marriage but for his courage to speak his mind and stand strong in his beliefs! All of the Saints, especially martyrs, we're not afraid to speak their mind and they shared Christ's Gospel to all the people's that they met! We are called to be Saints! We are called to be Christ like to all those we come in contact with. I pray that we may all have the courage of the Saints and of Mr. Cathy to stand strong in our beliefs so that we, as Catholics, can better the world we live in.