Draft: Chik-Fil-A President: Gay Marriage

By Adam

The following is a draft of a short response/discussion topic for my ethics class (this particular class is online) (this class is part of my Masters - MBA). 
The prompt was to respond to the Chik-Fil-A Gay Marriage controversy. It will be posted in the class discussion board about the topic. While I feel strongly about the topic I feel the proper answer is one many that know me, and know the causes I support would be surprised by. Let me know your thoughts.

-------------START-------------  I want to start by stating that I think same sex marriage as recognized by the state/government is a different argument compared to same sex marriage as recognized by any god. As far as the government is concerned, laws and taxes should be created with the idea that people are generally speaking equal. As far as religion, obviously that may be different. I personally do not eat at Chik-Fil-A due to their political stance on this issue. I am not gay but my best friend is and she feels the same way. I should also point out I do not go around asking everyone to boycott the company. Mr. Cathy (and his corporation) is fully entitled to his/their opinions as I am mine. If he uses his company to be heard and speak his values to the world, using his profits to support that - I simply will not support his profits.
With all that said we are in an Ethics class. I believe that Mr. Cathy was being fully ethical when he made his first statement "I think we are inviting God's judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at Him and say, 'We know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage,'" (Collier) and some of his many other comments on the issue.
The text book we were asked to read and hopefully learn from defines ethics with two main parts, while explaining ethics it states “If morals refer to the underlying values on which our decisions are based, ethics refers to the applications of those morals to the decisions themselves.” It then provides us an example “So, an individual could have a moral value of honesty, which, when applied to her or his decisions, results in a refusal to lie on an expense report.” (Hartman) Based on his speeches, articles and corporate policies there is little doubt that Mr. Cathy has, tried to be a person living by his, and his’ God’s values.
Our book goes on further to explain that “An individual may have carefully thought through a situation and decided what is right, and then may be motivated to act accordingly. But the corporate or social context surrounding the individual may create serious barriers to such behavior.” (Hartman) Most people would look at the statement and only think of that applying in the cases like Enron or other similar examples provided in the book. I look at that and think it applies to all value systems – the ones I agree with and the ones I don’t. I fully believe based on the publicly available information provided on Chik-Fil-A that Mr. Cathy thinks that he made the right move by sharing his values, values that have served his company well for many years.
 
So did Mr. Cathy speak out, and on a topic that I wish he would not have, absolutely; but, did Mr. Cathy act ethically based on his values, and using his morals to lead the way – yes.  
 
 
Hartman, Laura; DesJardins, Joseph (2013-01-01). Business Ethics: Decision-Making for Personal Integrity & Social Responsibility, 3rd edition (Page 14). McGraw-Hill Higher Education
 
COLLIER, M. (2012, January 18). Chick-fil-A President Says 'God's Judgment' Coming Because of Same-Sex Marriage. Retrieved March 21, 2015.

Unauthorized Copying Is Prohibited. Ask the author first.
Copyright 2015 Adam
Published on Saturday, March 21, 2015.     Filed under: "Political" and "Essay"
Log In or Join (free) to see the special features here.

Comments on "Draft: Chik-Fil-A President: Gay Marriage"

Log in to post comments.
  • Just Dave On Friday, April 26, 2019, Just Dave (448)By person wrote:

    Wow. Touchy subject. First off I'm gay. The kind of gay that blends in not a flaming bag of trash. I despise the "gay agenda". About the bible : Ruth 1:15-17 15"Look," said Naomi, "your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her." 16But Ruth replied, "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. 17Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me." Lastly about chick-fil-a. They have a position on gays. I respect their position because they own it. They aren't quiet expressing themselves. I will point out the local Chick-Fil_A opened on the Sunday following the Pulse Nightclub massacre. Despite their position they put it aside to help. That was a true display of Christianity everyone needed to see. Thanks. Provocative write and replies. JD

  • Jonas Robinson On Wednesday, June 6, 2018, Jonas Robinson (848)By person wrote:

    I don't believe in the Bible as a universal philosophy to ethics. However, I've read many versions of the Bible; And, have seen very little mention to Homosexuality at all. There is barely, if not any, actual evidence that homosexuality is unethical in Biblical philosophy. It seems to be that people use the Bible as a scapegoat to justify what they already believe, whether or not they've even read the book all the way through, themselves. In the end, we have to think for ourselves and act ethically based upon putting ourselves in their shoes.

  • A former member wrote: I have to disagree with the writer, and take my place with the owner of the restaurant. Same-sex marriages IS wrong, and until people understand that, people are going to continue to suffer for their decisions. I may be biased, because I consider myself a fairly strong Christian, but I support Chik-Fil-A all the way, and I say more power to them.

  • MercyRain On Saturday, June 27, 2015, MercyRain (105)By person wrote:

    i think really depends on how micro- or macro-cosmic you look at any given situation. It is his avowed moral belief that homosexuality is wrong. It is then ethical to him to do whatever he sees fit to right that wrong. The problem is there is no universal standard for what is and what is not moral or ethical, what is good, evil, et cetera. Zoom out some and as an extreme you can see this same thing play out rather brutally throughout history with the monotheistic religions, the meme of "there is only one God" cannot coexist side-by-side with "there are many gods" or "there is only one god but it's this one instead". This single idea has and still does create moral and ethical justification untold human butchery. Without a universal standard, morals and ethics are entirely subjective and as such are best suited for establishing an artificial class system, extra differentials between "us" and "them". The closest we have to a universal standard is the localized laws of the lands and while perhaps most of the laws of a given land, most of it's people agree with, and most of the laws are enacted for the general good of all, that is still a system created by an elite few forced and enforced on the many. It's a catch-22. Morals and ethics are vital in bringing together communities and countries together without devolving into survival of the fittest, but who decides the morals, and that is the fittest. So in the end, is Mr. Cathy acting moral and ethical? He can act this way and so he does, and therefore it must be moral and ethical.

  • Tear of Prometheus On Wednesday, March 25, 2015, Tear of Prometheus (27)By person wrote:

    As a theology student that read the bible and knows his fair share of docmatics and interpretation I have to oppose the statement that what Mr. Cathy said was ethical. He might believe that god opposes gay marriage but what does he know? The bible was not carved in stone. The first storys were told mouth to mouth, then it was written on paper, given from one generation to the next and then poorly translated after hudnreds of years and the laws were written in a different context of time. As an owner of a storechain like that he shouldn´t worry about same sex marriage. He is a man that supports one of the deadly sins (and they actually always stay relevant) which is gluttoy, so he will burn in hell for sure, if you ask me but that is a different story. He doesn´t even know what "god´s judgement" is when he talks about it. Beeing opposed to same sex marryage is like beeing opposed to marryage between people from different countrys. It is not ethical at all. If the church in America is opposed to it, the church is wrong. We live in an age where we should realise that every human beeing is a child of god, no matter what people might believe what the bible told us. Minoritys, that don´t harm anyone must be embraced, not surpressed. If you ask me that Mr. Cathy is a facist. He needs or wants a scapegoat to vent his hatred, that lingers in most human beeings. His way of thinking seems to come straight from the middle ages. Church in America needs to change if it still teaches bullshit like that.

  • Tear of Prometheus On Friday, March 27, 2015, Tear of Prometheus (27)By person wrote:

    Sorry for any typos, it was very late and I can't think completely straight on an empty stomach.

Contribution Level

Adam's Favorite Poets
Adam's Favorite Works
Share/Save This Post



Join DarkPoetry Join to get a profile like this for yourself. It's quick and free.

How to Criticize Without Causing Offense
© 1998-2024 DarkPoetry LLC
Donate
[Join (free)]    [More Poetry]    [Get Help]    [Our Poets]    [Read Poems]    [Terms & Privacy]

Attention: Darkpoetry is now in maintenance mode and will be shutting down soon. Save your work if you wish to keep it.