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The BIG Reason

Music, opinions, and portfolio of Mark Eagleton, musician and web developer in Northern CA.

Talking Chicken, Bigotry and Free Speech

I was involved in a politcal discussion on Facebook last week regarding the recent protests of Chick-fil-A Appriciation Day started by Mike Huckabee in honor of Chick-fil-A COO Dan Cathy’s remarks about same sex marriage. The thread starter was criticizing the protest.

I don’t care to debate politics very often, but the following remark prompted me to respond (bold emphasis mine, anonymoty of author protected):

People didn’t just have a craving for chicken yesterday, they are starting to stand up for themselves and THEIR beliefs. They are tired of being called racist, bigots, and gay bashers—just because they don’t beleve what the left wants to force them to believe.

My response with links added for reference:

Our freedom of speech and the free exchange of ideas is the most valuable right our constitution protects. By definition, this right cannot protect our speech and ideas from criticism. Nor should it.

It is critical to the health of our society that Dan Cathy and his supporters be allowed to express their beliefs. The same goes for those who oppose those beliefs. No matter which side of the issue you are on, be grateful you live in a place where this Chik-fil-A story can unfold legally and with detailed media coverage.

If you remove the Abrahamic religious perspective from the same sex marriage issue, the rationale to oppose consenting adults of the same gender from marrying each other goes away. It is not reasonable to require belief in a supernatural deity to be a citizen of the United States, and it is unconstitutional to require that a US citizen adhere to any specific religion. Not allowing same sex marriage for supernatural reasons is irrational at best, and cruel at worst.

Not allowing same sex marriage prevents a significant portion of our society from enjoying the legal rights of another for no other reason than the personal preference of some. Supporting this stance is the definition of bigotry.

If you do not wish to be called a bigot, then do not express bigoted ideas. 

But do know that any American worthy of his or her citizenship will fight to the end to protect your right to do so.

The Facebook thread was deleted by the author. There was no response to my post.