Chick-Fil-A is not a 'distraction from real issues'

This week I had an interesting exchange with a follower on Google+ about the recent Chick-Fil-A news story. I am sure you've heard about the Chick-Fil-A saga ad nauseum, so I'll not repeat it all here. What this Google+ follower intimated was that the Chick-Fil-A story was a distraction from the 'real issues' we should be talking about. That got me to thinking .. is it really? Aren't the core issues surrounding this Chick-Fil-A story some of the most fundamental principles of our Republic?

America has undergone a rather dramatic shift in thinking about religious liberty since the time of our founding. A good friend I follow on Twitter, Terry Sigmon shared this video with me yesterday. What an eye-opener...

Would Dan Cathy have received public ridicule if he had made those 'controversial' statements about traditional marriage during the founding of this country?  Of course not. Only a few years ago, our own president indicated his religious faith was the foundation of his own position on traditional marriage:

Mayors in several cities are threatening Mr. Cathy.. insinuating his business is not welcome in their communities and that building permits would be denied. The blasting of Christians and conservatives in our mainstream media is relentless. Christians are being called haters, intolerant, and worse. Liberals who disagree with the Christian stance on traditional marriage are boycotting any business that does not openly embrace the same-sex marriage ideology.  So what happened over the past few years to cause large numbers of our citizens to rise up to criticize long-held believes on traditional marriage and religious liberty? Could it be that we are relinquishing our religious liberties in America to try to 'fit in' with popular political culture? Isn't that the very purpose behind our first amendment, to protect the freedom to worship as we choose and express our faith openly?

Another peculiar twist to this story is how the same people who are blasting Christians for their stance on traditional marriage have openly supported building a mosque at a site that is only a few blocks from the site of the World Trade Center disaster. Their argument? .. that we should be tolerant of different religious faiths. I don't suppose they realize the hypocrisy in this position, considering that Muslims reject same-same marriage, too. Muslims not only condemn the practice of homosexuality, the punishment for this 'crime' is death. Why the double-standard? Is Christianity the only faith that is no longer accepted in our political culture?

The Chick-Fil-A saga should be a warning signal to every American. We are entering unprecedented waters in our battle to retain our liberties. Our founders were wise in giving us the First Amendment to our Constitution to protect individuals who hold different views from the majority. If our political leaders ignore the Constitution and allow business owners to be targeted by the government simply because they openly express their religious beliefs, we are headed down the path to religious intolerance and tyranny.  Freedom of speech is not just the freedom to agree with the majority.