How many times have you been traveling down an interstate highway and started looking for a sign for a Chick-Fil-A restaurant? Everyone one in the car starts looking at the informational signs, or with today’s technology using a GPS to search. Just as you pull into the parking lot and notice it is empty, you remember it is Sunday. All Chick-Fil-A’s are closed on Sundays regardless of being company owned or franchised. “Our decision to close on Sunday was our way of honoring God and of directing our attention to things that mattered more than our business. Also my father opened his first restaurant on a Tuesday and by Sunday he was just worn out,” current CEO Dan Cathy has responded in interviews. Even though you are disappointed there could a respect for a company that keeps its values. It could be said “they walk the walk” not just spouting rhetoric.

After following this tradition since its inception, one could wonder how anyone could be surprised when Dan Cathy recently made a statement on family during an interview. Cathy made the comment “”We are very much supportive of the family – the biblical definition of the family unit.” Cathy probably did not realize at the time what this statement would bring about. However, a company that has operated very successfully since 1967, following a set of values, should have the right to state its opinion. Not only Chick-Fil-A but other companies should be able to state their values and belief system without being an object of ridicule.

This comment like others in the past can be taken out of context and added to or taken away to prove a particular point of view. It seems that many, especially the “Hollywood” folks, want to boycott the restaurant chain and even accuse them of gay bashing. In today’s world so many would rather believe the gospel according to Hollywood versus what many Americans still hold true. One could question how an actor or actress who has been successful on screen and financially suddenly becomes an expert in politics and right from wrong. In fact many times it would seem they will jump on the side that goes against the belief system of the majority.

If we are reaching the point that as Americans we cannot voice our beliefs and stand firm on them the future could be dim. This is not judging or condemning anyone. As Christians we are instructed to love one another just as Christ loves us. We may not always agree with others but not to love each other with Agape love is not an option.

Randy Garrison is the president and publisher of the Hartselle Enquirer.