The Chick-Fil-A story has been interesting to watch the past week or so and the situation hit an interesting marker today with the Support Free Speech day. A little background is in order. Chick-Fil-A is a conservative company built upon Christian principles. They are a company that closes on Sunday, Christmas and Thanksgiving, which is fairly unusual, especially being closed on Sundays, for a fast food company. For the most part, not a lot of people knew about this aspect of the company. They served good food and as long as the service was good, all was good.

The company, like many corporations in America, donates money to a lot of organizations. We love it when we see companies give money or donate items to children's centers, families in need and the elderly. Companies get into problems when they donate to controversial causes. If they donate to a political campaign, as an example, the company can risk alienating part of its customer base, which is bad for business. Large businesses that consists of franchises have a rough tightrope to face when working with donations and PR. A few years ago there was a raid of two local McDonalds restaurants by Sheriff Joe Arpaio, claiming there was a hotbed of illegal workers there. The story went national and hurt the image of the company for a week. So something on a local scale can effect the larger organization. In the case of McDonalds, it was small and was something easy to recover over. When the situation comes from the top down, it can be close to impossible for the local branch to separate their franchise from the larger scandal.

A top down controversy has happened in the Chick-Fil-A issue. Some money had been donated to anti-gay organizations. Depending on what news service you check on, it could have been a regional or national donation. No matter the case, the issue exploded when the CEO of Chick-Fil-A went on a Christian radio station and said defying God's law on the definition of marriage was wrong. In essence he said same-sex marriage was bad for America. This got LGTB groups angry. Their anger got conservatives angry. Both groups getting angry got politicians angry. Some politicians were calling for not issuing permits for Chick-Fil-A. Some politicians literally evoked a separation of CEOs messages and their right to make money. Even the Jim Henson company, which was to design toys in conjunction with Chick-Fil-A, pulled out of the contract and donated the money they had received to an LGTB organization.

Mike Huckabee, former Republican Presidential candidate and Fox News commentator, called for a free speech support drive today. He called for 'all good people' to show their support for free speech, and in turn for the sanctity of marriage, to show up today and buy something from Chick-Fil-A. The news has shown reports of lines wrapped around Chick-Fil-A establishments around the country. Locally the press has shown happy people waiting in line for hours to support a company 'with their values.' On my Facebook page I had people who were in support of the company and were eagerly reporting in line about their experience while others were enraged with the support and talked of a same-sex kiss day that would occur on Friday to show solidarity for the LGTB community.

The issue has become muddled because as time has gone on the rhetoric has been escalated. The issue is mired in free speech, LGTB equality, business interest and, because this is the political season, the President and his support on same-sex marriage. The battlefield is a chicken restaurant. People on both sides are trying to take the moral high ground on the issue, implying if you don't support their point of view you are not in favor of free speech. Again, all of this is over a chicken restaurant. Whenever someone talks about free speech, they have to remember, or be forced to be reminded, that free speech is a two way street. The CEO of Chick-Fil-A has the right to say he is against same-sex marriage. He has the right to say his franchises adhere to strict biblical teachings. People also have the right to decide not to go to his stores. That is what free speech is about, however a disagreement of one side or another isn't an attack on free speech. It is the essence of free speech.

I don't mind when people, of their own volition, make up their mind to protest or support a point of view. Where I have a problem is when other issues, such as religious freedom or blatant political viewpoints, use free speech as a cover. Mike Huckabee put his foot into this controversy not because of free speech but because he could push is agenda against same-sex marriage. People in those long lines seem to feel LGTB people are going to invade their chicken establishment and a show of force is necessary to beat back the hordes. People in support of LGTB issues see the long lines of support on the news and feel they are losing hard fought for rights because people are irrationally afraid of them for who they are.

There's no easy resolution to this issue. Like every other political discourse today, both sides know in their hearts they are on the right side of history. They feel they battle an enemy that must be demonized and vanquished. In their fire and brimstone rhetoric, both sides forget they are not fighting an invading heathen horde, they are not standing up a tyrannical blinded army, they are up against fellow citizens who, for the most part, just have a different point of view. We can't take every discussion and make it an old school comic book plot with the fate of the human race in the balance of every battle. Ultimately, this is all about chicken. You can eat there if you like or you don't have to. That is the best way, in this particular situation, to voice your opinion.