Fr Dwight Longenecker on Chick-Fil-A Appreciation Day and the Triumph of the Ordinary

By Fr Dwight Longenecker
8/5/2012
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

Wednesday's Chick-Fil-A Appreciation Day was the sort of 'revolt' this country needs

It was the sort of 'revolt' this country needs.It was just plain, ordinary Americans doing something plain and ordinary, but positive and joyful and good. In buying an ordinary tasty chicken sandwich at their corner fast food emporium ordinary Americans were expressing the wish to be left alone to be ordinary Americans.

One of thousands of Chick-Fil-A restaurants filled with customers

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GREENVILLE,SC (Catholic Online) - The Chick-Fil-A Appreciation Day on August 1, 2012 was historic. It was historic because it marks a new method of mass protest. I even hesitate to use the word 'protest' because it wasn't a protest. There wasn't any anger. There wasn't any hate. There wasn't any bullying. There were no unwashed crowds of unhappy people holding a sit in and causing other people stress, inconvenience and expense. There were no protest signs, no marches, no noise makers and attention grabbers. There were no revolutionary slogans, no clenched fists, no class warfare, no sullen adolescents in a stroppy mood.

The classic signs of a protest movement were absent. If they were not actually violent revolutions, the great protest movements in history have often had violent undertones. Subtle threats were made. Bullying tactics, financial and political pressure was exerted. Guns were wielded. Behind the scenes in smoke filled rooms men did deals and crossed swords to determine the future of millions. In the great revolutions hoardes of unhappy people filled the streets, rioting and on the rampage they took what they wanted, killed who they wanted and in misplaced zeal for justice overturned an established order.

Even the non-violent protests pioneered by Gandhi and the American civil rights movement had an undercurrent of threat. Nevertheless, they avoided violence and they opened the way to other peaceful revolutions in which ordinary people stood up against injustice and tyranny without resorting to violence themselves. In his great biography of Pope John Paul II, George Weigel shows how the Catholic Church, during John Paul's papacy, inspired this sort of non violent revolution across the globe. The Solidarity movement in Poland lit the fuse which brought down the Communist Empire with little or no violence. The revolution of Cory Aquino in the Phillipines, and numerous other smaller scale non-violent revolutions in Africa and Central and South America were all inspired by the people and for the people-and most of them were also inspired by people of faith-working from the grass roots upward to change their society for the better.

Wednesday's Chick-Fil-A Appreciation Day was the sort of 'revolt' this country needs, but it was even better than the non violent revolutions and peaceful protests which have changed the world because it was so ordinary. It was just plain, ordinary Americans getting in their cars and doing a plain, ordinary American thing: going out for lunch to a fast food joint. It was just plain, ordinary Americans doing something plain and ordinary, but positive and joyful and good. In buying an ordinary tasty chicken sandwich at their corner fast food emporium ordinary Americans were expressing the wish to be left alone to be ordinary Americans.

There were no protest signs (except from a few glum pro-gays who said we were eating 'hate' sandwiches) There were no noisy, angry scenes. Folks in the drive through lines did not honk their horns or proclaim their Christianity with bullhorns. There were no statements against homosexuals or homosexuality. (Indeed, the only statement put out by Chick-Fil-A affirmed their commitment to serve and employ all people equally without notice of race, gender, age or sexual orientation.) The brilliance of the event that it used the network of a nationwide fast food chain as the foundation for a visible, peaceful, creative nationwide statement.

There was no bullying, no hateful anti-homosexual loud mouthed preachers. This grace, patience gentleness and community good humor contrasted with the ugly and spiteful comments from the 'other side'. Nobody wished their enemies to get cancer the way 'comedian' Roseanne Barr proclaimed. Nobody was using back room political and financial pressure to bully the majority of Americans the way mayors of Boston, DC and Chicago were doing. For all the talk of the traditional marriage supporters being full of hate, there was not hatred apparent. It was just ordinary suburban Americans sticking up for their way of life by buying a chicken sandwich with their friends and neighbors. These were not scary people like the folks from Westboro Baptist who tote guns and hate homos. They were the folks next door.

Wednesday's demonstration was a truly American form of revolution. Where else could it happen but the USA? Read More of my thoughts on the Chick-Fil-A revolution here.

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Fr Dwight Longenecker is Parish Priest of Our Lady of the Rosary Church in Greenville, South Carolina. Visit his website and connect to his well known blog here. This article first appeared on the Patheos Catholic Channel and is used with the permission of the author.

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Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.

Keywords: Chick-fil-A, Fr Dwight Longenecker, Marriage, Family, Dan Cathy, Truett Cathy, pro-life, pro-marriage, pro-family, faithful citizenship,

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1 - 10 of 20 Comments

Judy Claar
10 months ago
KarlVDH: Oh my, I think you interpret my post wrong. Allow me to clarify without putting words in my mouth. We Catholics never wanted the government to Change the institution of marriage. Where did you get that? The government is doing quite well on its own accord w/o the help of the Catholic Church. We know what marriage is. We do not need a rewrite for True Marriage. We do not need government in the Catholic Church to write any sort of precepts or laws they know nothing about. No one wants that! Noon Blessings...
GW
10 months ago
KarlVDH is right on. I'm not surprised by Chick fil A's stance on this issue. I wonder how many Catholics who are "appreciating" Chick fil A also understand how Mr. Cathy and his associates feel about Catholicism. If evangelicals like Mr. Cathy were in absolute charge of this country, it would be a dark day for us.
If you need another reason to ignore Mr. Cathy and his cohorts, just read the nutritional information on the food at Chick fil A. That stuff is gonna kill you.
KarlVDH
10 months ago
I see. So, while we're yelling in one direction about religious freedom, we're also demanding that the government define the sacrament of marriage as we see fit. Does opening that door bother anyone else? Think about it... Ok, let's say the government eventually defines marriage, legally, as strictly one man/woman. (It's not going to happen; same sex marriage will be legalized whether we like it or not, and I predict it'll be within this decade.) But for the sake of argument, we win this one. Ok. But now, WE have opened the door allowing the Government of the United States a say in the sacramental life of the Church. Using the marriage precedent, (and remembering, of course, that the majority of our "leaders" do not have the welfare of the Catholic Church at heart, by any stretch of the imagination,) it wouldn't be too hard for them to step in and start defining other things for us, would it? For example... maybe they mighht have something to say about divorce. Can't you hear it? "Oh no... YOU wanted us to define marriage as you wanted, now you have no right to withold communion from people who've legally dissolved the marriages YOU pushed for!" Ho about if the government started wanting to certify our Preists? Have we cosidered governmental approval of the liturgies? How much of an inroad do we REALLY want to give the government into the Church? You really think there aren't elements out there that might require a curriculum standardization for CCD and Sunday School? how about WHAT we're allowed to teach? Want to offer them a say in that? How do we feel about governmental intrusion, really? Because we CANNOT howl about "church and state" out of one side of our mouths and then demand the Government accept and codify legally our religiously defined ideas about marriage without opening a series of doors that in this heady, emotionally charged day of "image over substance," political polarization, and singing praises of fast food companies as if Chik-Fil-A actually meant something real,would expose us to consequences down the road that I don't believe were thinking all the ay through. We need to knock this political garbage off in this country, as a Church, and focus on changing real peoples' real lives, one at a time, making disciples the hard way, like Jesus said. This is all going either nowhere, or somewhere where we're gonna get bitten back in the long run.
'
Judy Claar
10 months ago
DLL: Very Good! KarlVDH: Good to a point, but, you seem to not be getting all of it. Perhaps you did not grow up when using, or reading the word gay meant: happy, joyful, etc.? NOW, to have a word like gay, Changed into something that does not mean said definition, is quite sad to me. Brilliant poems and literature have been ruined, because when one goes to read them, and you come across the word "gay" one has to re-focus on the correct meaning, while modern "gay' breaks your focus and ruins it. Not a whole lot mind you, just enough to interrupt the flow. It is terrible to me. It is a slap in the face or more, to Excellent Literature. It is a shame that the Same-sex community could not make up their own word, and have it added to the dictionary. DLL was trying to get you to see, that their has never been a change on words soooo dramatic as this Same-Sex community has managed. He was trying to get you to see that society has never accepted communities of Same-sex individuals. The reason is obvious, they can not pro-create. (And please don't say, male Romans and/or Greeks were w/male youth, because after a while, these males were wed to a woman. There was no society of same-sex persons until now.) And that my friend, has also changed how people see True marriage. I can Not believe, that I am living in a horrid transition. 'Sacred Heart Of Jesus, Immaculate Heart Of Mary, Pray For Us".
DLL
10 months ago
KarlVDH:today a word called marriage has changed in its meaning,before the change has been universally accepted as a true definition. In the newer version of the Mirriam Webster on line dictionary,marriage is already defined as between either opposite sex or same sex couples. This seems somewhat pre-mature to me. This is a dangerous practice because the Germans changed the humanity of a Jewish person to be less than human. They taught that to a complete generation of children before world war 2. Those dehumanized Jewish persons were easily dehumanized,robbed of all they had,then sent off to concentration camps to die. One can so easily change the meaning of a word to suit a new meaning through the propaganda of agenda,indoctrinating and brainwashing the young to believe it. You can even make ethnic groups of people into animals by the same process,even homosexuals and Christians.Today a fetus is taught erroneously to be only a bunch of cells. Words like gay really were never meant to mean a homosexual. I think it is an insult to call someone gay and it is in my mind as bad as calling them a fag. Their sexual "Preference"means little to me as I simply won't ever be sexual with a person of the same sex. Sex is intimate and between husband and wife,1 man!1woman,the couple should "prefer" one another. I do believe that homosexuality is a sin,to my way of thinking,to those so inclined,it is not. What can I say? Do I hate a homosexually inclined human person because they won't agree with me ? No! Why should I? Christ is in love with each and all of those so inclined,just as I know Christ loves me. Why is that? Because Christ died on the cross in MY PLACE,as I am the sinner needing to be saved from all of my sins.
KarlVDH
10 months ago
DLL... words DO change meaning. It's linguistic evolution as much as slang,. Languages change and evolve. And they change with location. A "Fag" in England is a cigarette. We do not need to be strictly, linguisticly correct at all times to be undersstood. And, correct me if I'm wrong, but if someone told you, "that guy looks gay," I SERIOUSLY doubt you'd turn around looking for the happiest looking fella in the room.
Judy Claar
10 months ago
kasoy & robert burford, Agreed. There has never been a more Secular quiet solemn place to peacefully protest than the voting box. Blessings...
Tom McGuire
10 months ago
As we praise the peaceful revolution at a food establishment, the cost of our food is rising. Drought and extreme weather conditions are reducing the world's food supply. Many, perhaps some who were standing in line at Chik-Fil-A, can can now afford to eat but soon may find they cannot afford enough food for the family. Where are the peaceful revolutionist supporting the farm bill that was left unpassed as legislators went home for summer vacation? In the John's Gospel, Chapter 6, which we will read all month, the emphasis is on food physical as well as spiritual. Would it not be great if we Catholics were to unite to make sure all people of the world had sufficient food to eat and by our acts of just love led to the table of the Lord?
DLL
10 months ago
"I feel pretty,I pretty,I feel pretty and witty and gay". That song from West side story now uses the word bright for the word gay in that song. The innocent word gay has become perverted from it's original meaning. Now we have the term for some marriage as a gay one? No! It is an unconventional one. We must not let marriage to ever be called "gay marriage"ever again,as it is simply unconventional. Conventional marriage is man/ woman,traditional marriage and not a straight marriage. Changing meaning for words,that change the meaning of events and the definitions of the words themselves,is a perversion of the English language.Even the meaning of law itself has changed because the usage of words radically change from their original meanings. The common usage of the word gay is perverted to mean mostly homosexual life and life styles. In term and in kind there is no such thing as gay or straight marriages either,as these terms are only a form of slang at best. Slang is not the English language.If the meanings of words were specific and the usage of them more exacting,we could all at least understand our laws of the land,as well as our traditions and each other.
KarlVDH
10 months ago
Imagine what we might accom[[lsh in this country if we could line up to serve at homeless shelters, food banks, soup kitchens, and blood drives in the name of Jesus Christ like we did just to make a political statement at a fast food restaurant in the name of... what, exactly? Money? American politics? Sorry- not seeing the big "triumph" here.

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