Dakota Beacon

Here’s one more expression none of us ever heard of ten years ago: “cancel culture”. Today we all know exactly what that means. One recent victim of cancel culture is Chick-fil-A. The fast-food enterprise has been struggling against a tide of Christianophobia. That’s right. The founder and the CEO of Chick-fil-A have been known for acting on their strong Christian beliefs. Chick-fil-A closes on Sunday. The company has supported charities which are also known for Christian belief – one is the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, another is the Salvation Army.

This pro-active Christianity has caused a great deal of havoc with Chick-fil-A’s business plans. LGBTQ organizations have focused a lot of their energy on trying as best they can to put the company out of business. They pressure entities, from City Hall to airport authorities to colleges and universities, to ban Chick-fil-A from opening stores in various cities, airports and campuses. In one case a college dean resigned her position because the college would not reverse their decision to ban Chick-fil-A.

For some reason Chick-fil-A executives believe that caving in to demands that they quit donating to organizations which uphold Christian values, such as the Salvation Army, will result in “redemption” with these groups and hope they will be allowed to set up shop again. Why they would believe this is beyond common understanding. As Richard Morgan writes in a disgusting opinion piece for CNN: “Fun fact: there is no "policy debate" about gay marriage. There is settled law. Gay marriage has been enshrined as justice by the Supreme Court since 2015. It's hypocrisy to claim a commitment to "respect" and describe same-sex marriage, affirmed as legal in the Obergefell decision, as a "policy debate" in the same breath. With its new announcement, Chick-fil-A did the corporate charity equivalent of apologizing without ever saying sorry. It is sobriety disguised as therapy or healing. It is silence hoping to pass as reverence. It is tolerance doing its best impression of fellowship.”  (Of course, that decision did not reach so far as to require that no one be allowed to donate to organizations which do not believe this is correct, but then, Morgan didn't reach so far as to address that pertinent point, either.)

In other words, nothing Chick-fil-A could ever say or do from now on will ever erase it’s stain with the likes of Morgan and the gay lobby. And why should they even bother granting Chick-fil-A absolution? Or care who shops there?  There are plenty of other places to go – Starbucks, for one – where they need not give a moment’s worry to the values and beliefs of the company.  The vindictive and dictatorial attitude of these lobby groups is really shocking.  This just in:  GLAAD is now demanding that Chick-fil-A renounce their Christian beliefs and cut ties to Focus on the Family, a pro-family, natural marriage advocate.  When Chick-fil-A does this the next step will probably be to demand that they begin advocating and donating to GLAAD.  There is no way to satisfy this monster.  Nothing will ever be "enough".

So here is the Salvation Army – which is, in truth, a Christian denomination. It is known for its belief in marriage being an institution between one man and one woman, but also for many other things, among them relief to sufferers of disaster, clothing and shelter for the homeless, food for the hungry, toys for children of the poor, thrift shops which never throw out unsold merchandise but always recycle it; their “executive overhead” is frugal. Normally 82% of every dollar donated goes to charitable work, but in times of emergency the organization provides 100% to disaster relief. They do this without regard to the religious beliefs or lifestyles of the recipients. They provide help to those seeking it for addictions and alcoholism. Again, it is offered without regard or question as to the person’s beliefs or lifestyle. They employ without regard to race, religion or lifestyle. Their door is open to all. They have run into conflict in declining to extend various employee benefits to same-sex partners of employees. With that caveat, they have never discriminated since their founding in 1866 – unlike the LGBTQ groups who would prevent anyone who does not believe exactly as they do even going into or staying in business.

My own experience with the Salvation Army was in the period of recovery from the 1997 “500-year” flood in Grand Forks. Their food trucks drove up and down streets of town offering nutritious food – mainly sandwiches – to those working at cleaning up after the disaster, to providing shelter for those who were rendered homeless, to going to people’s houses and businesses and helping in cleaning them so they were inhabitable once again. They were undoubtedly called upon to counsel those who were in pain. They have been doing this for over 250 years now, in every corner of the world. They are usually among the first to arrive where help is needed most. I donate to two major causes when I can – St. Jude’s in Memphis and the Salvation Army. The LGBTQ people must have held a meeting to decide which humanitarian organization they should focus on to destroy this Christmas.  Turns out it was the Salvation Army. This is the second time in a week that organization has been pointlessly attacked.

Chick-fil-A, for its part, lived its belief system, giving employees Sundays to worship, to spend with families, to rest, donating to charities which believe in their values. They have made great effort to make their foods healthier and safer for consumers. One of the ways they have done this is to seek improvements so as to avoid the contamination of antibiotics in their food. Many have been delighted to get a product they liked from a responsible company which embodied their values as well.

Their caving in to the LGBTQ groups was both sad and shameful. They undoubtedly felt they were forced to back down on their principles just in order to survive as a business as one after another outlet was being either shut down or banned before it opened. One sees a mighty hypocrisy in these so-called “rights” groups. While they will not allow anyone who disagrees with them to run a business or meet their payroll or pay their bills, they yet demand that their “values” and lifestyle be affirmed by all. And Richard Morgan finds “hypocrisy” in Chick-fil-A? LGBTQ spells “hypocrisy”.

What we are seeing now is total tyranny of these “intersectional” and “minority” groups. The rest of us simply don’t count. Our beliefs have been trashed by the Supreme Court – just ask Richard Morgan. Nothing matters – nothing – except to serve these groups, chiefly the LGBTQers. I have not heard that any such lobby group as LGBTQs has provided disaster relief to anyone (even one of “their own”), to attempt to provide any of these other charitable services – shelter, clothing, food, toys for kids, any other kinds of assistance. Where is their standing to threaten someone or an entity which contributes to those who do? Who the hell are they to dictate to the rest of us. No one demands that they do business with Chick-fil-A, no one demands that they contribute to (or accept the assistance of) a charitable organization like the Salvation Army.  And at the end of the day, should one of these creeps seek help from the Salvation Army, they would not be refused.

Chick-fil-A has shown us what it is. It is not a company that stands behind its promises when those promises have a material cost. And they will learn – as they already are learning – that nothing will ever be enough. No apology, no backpedaling, no penance will earn them even the tolerance of the LGBTQ activists. Not even their tolerance, to say nothing of their custom.

It was a fool’s bargain. Once they were attacked they might as well have stood their ground and fought for their principles. At least they’d have been left with their self-respect, the knowledge that they had done they right thing by their own principles and by the Salvation Army, and the loyalty of those who have preferred to do business with them all along. They had already lost everything else. For any other Christian, or non-LGBTQ-approved company, I suggest you take time out to read Richard Morgan’s sorry little opinion piece. He sums it up rather nicely, with a gratuitous Bible reference to boot, a little sneer he thinks he needs to provide for you.  His idea of a "barb" for good measure.  One thing you will never find is room to breathe on the same planet as these people, so before you capitulate to their outrageous demands on your personal decisions and before you accept their “values” in order to appease them, remember that once they target you it is too late. It’s all over. Chick-fil-A did nothing but earn the contempt of those who a week ago preferred to go there because the company reflected their values, their principles. Now we all see they had none. Chick-fil-A will likely not survive. It has insulted its base without pleasing its attackers. There was never a win in this for Chick-fil-A.

I would expect that this little tussle will help to defeat Pete Buttegieg.  I hope so, because he has made plain what his priorities are.  This is why we should never elect to office those who will abandon the principles and spirit of our Constitution, which "enshrines" (to use Morgan's verb) our rights to associate freely with those we choose, to worship as we see fit and to express our views without fear.  Those candidates should be an easy "no".  They make America unsafe for the rest of us.   It's not about "gay rights".  It's about our rights.  No one is threatening gay people here nor have they been .  Those who do not subscribe to a gay lifestyle themselves are under attack.  This whole campaign is in restraint of trade and should be tried in a court of law.  At least then we could find out what our judges are.