Chicken With A Side Of Controversy
http://thekojonnamdishow.org/shows/2012-08-01/chicken-side-controversy
The owners of the Chick-fil-A restaurant chain are hardly secretive about their commitment to Christian values -- all of their franchises are famously closed on Sundays. But calls erupted to boycott the company and prevent it from opening storefronts in several cities after its president said, "We are very much supportive of ... the biblical definition of the family unit," and the company's charitable donations to organizations that actively oppose same-sex marriage were publicized. We explore why the controversy has put our politics and our plates on a collision course.
Guests
Martin Austermuhle
Editor-in-Chief, DCist.com
Shreevardhan Lele
Ralph J. Tyser Distinguished Teaching Fellow of Business Administration at the Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland
Randall Balmer
Mandel Family Professor of Arts and Sciences at Dartmouth College; and Chair, Department of Religion
Comments
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Good Morning,
As I listened to the radio this morning, I heard that the Kojo show was addressing this controversy today. It inspired my first comment to this site.
This is yet another example of the abject hypocrisy of social liberals.
Many within this group exclaim over and over again that they are ardent defenders of First Amendment rights. However, time and time again we see that when these individuals disagree with the substance of the speech in question, they are the first to attempt to trample it.
It is very clear that social liberals are not interested in protecting any rights whatsoever. Their only goal is to pursue an ill-defined and mercurial social agenda. They only use the First Amendment (and other protections) as a tool to advance that cause.
If you don't believe me, think of the inverse of this situation. Imagine that a business had endorsed same sex marriage. Many within the media would laud the business and bestow upon them blessings. Now imagine that a major city mayor had chastized the business in question. He would be set upon immediately by the ACLU.
Now ask yourself the question: why has the ACLU not come to the aid of Chick-fil-A, if their goal is truly to defend First Amendment rights?
The answer is that the social left is not interested in protecting anyone's rights. They are interested in oppressing and subverting all opposition to their agenda by labeling their opponents as bigots.
For the record, I don't even agree with Chick-fil-A's position. I just recognize that free speech is easy when I agree with it; it's more difficult when I don't. It is, however, a dangerous road to travel when you seek to silence the voices of those who disagree with you; it sets a precedent for an action that may one day be used to silence you.
Thanks for the good show,
-Matt
The elephant in the room here for me is that Chick-fil-A and so-called opposing side, Starbucks are large chains that serve generally unhealthy food and monopolize local business. For these reasons, regardless of the establishment's positions, I choose to not patronize them.
Matt, I think you picked up on a very important point. I don't agree with the company's donations or its leader's comments, but its certainly not up to the government to deny them the right to grow their business.
However, I think you're focusing too much on what you call the 'social liberals,' hypocrisy is a problem of both parties and most idealogies. Take the Republican party's almost decade-long support of out of control spending, just to accuse the new Democratic party leader of precisely that. Or the widely expressed opinion that government has no business telling individuals how to live their lives (I'm referencing gun rights, free speach, taxes, the EPA and FDA, the Affordable Care Act), except when it comes to abortion, marriage equality, and several other so-called 'minority issues.'
You're absolutely right that hypocrisy and censorship is a big problem, but it's just not a 'liberal' problem.
Um, the ACLU came to the defense of Chik-fil-A.
Do a Google search on "chik fil a aclu" and you get nothing but results from blogs and news websites talking about how the ACLU opposed all these big-city mayors and LGBT groups.
Did Kojo's webmaster feature this comment just to show how little the average anti-liberal pays attention?