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The politics of poultry.
Aug. 1st, 2012 01:43 pmOnce in my life, I went to a Chik-Fil-A. They were opening a new branch and gave out coupons for a free sandwich. My impression? Superb sandwich. Way too expensive. (Normally, not with the coupon.) The point being, I cannot reasonably claim to boycott a vendor which I never patronize anyway. But there are snippets of argument surrounding the controversy that I feel the urge to address.
Freedom of Speech: I do believe in freedom of speech. Passionately. And I will defend the right of a business owner to exercise that right. I will also defend the right of customers to move their business elsewhere. You have the right to send a portion of your profits to, for example, the Ku Klux Klan and declare your support of “the great white race”. But that certainly won’t incline me to go out and purchase your product.
Not natural: I heard it suggested this morning that men marrying men is “not natural”. This is demonstrably true. There is nothing ‘natural’ about anyone marrying anyone. Marriage is a societal construct. Now both monogamy and its’ opposite are found in nature. From what I’ve read homosexuality is actually more common in nature. But marriage—gay or otherwise—is not technically ‘natural’. Of course ‘natural’ is synonymous neither with ‘good’ or ‘bad’ in any case.
Christian values: This part irks me. I am a Christian. And what Christ taught again and again is that we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God and that reclaiming the grace of God rests largely in acceptance. Accept the poor who society condemns. Accept the Samaritan who society condemns. Women and tax collectors and fishermen—the Gospel of Christ is a gospel of acceptance. “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” Now I’m not going to claim that someone is “not Christian” just because they happen to disagree with me. But let’s not pretend that agents of exclusion have a monopoly on Christianity.
Freedom of Speech: I do believe in freedom of speech. Passionately. And I will defend the right of a business owner to exercise that right. I will also defend the right of customers to move their business elsewhere. You have the right to send a portion of your profits to, for example, the Ku Klux Klan and declare your support of “the great white race”. But that certainly won’t incline me to go out and purchase your product.
Not natural: I heard it suggested this morning that men marrying men is “not natural”. This is demonstrably true. There is nothing ‘natural’ about anyone marrying anyone. Marriage is a societal construct. Now both monogamy and its’ opposite are found in nature. From what I’ve read homosexuality is actually more common in nature. But marriage—gay or otherwise—is not technically ‘natural’. Of course ‘natural’ is synonymous neither with ‘good’ or ‘bad’ in any case.
Christian values: This part irks me. I am a Christian. And what Christ taught again and again is that we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God and that reclaiming the grace of God rests largely in acceptance. Accept the poor who society condemns. Accept the Samaritan who society condemns. Women and tax collectors and fishermen—the Gospel of Christ is a gospel of acceptance. “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” Now I’m not going to claim that someone is “not Christian” just because they happen to disagree with me. But let’s not pretend that agents of exclusion have a monopoly on Christianity.
