Land of the Free?

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

     Recognize that quote? If you don't, someone in your life has failed you. That quote begins the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence. The document that laid the foundation our Country was built on. If you haven't read it before, please do yourself a favor and check it out. That quote up there is very powerful. I'd like to break it down a bit so you completely understand the weight it holds.

    "We hold these truths to be self-evident." Self-evident is defined as something known to be true without proof or reasoning. Meaning, the truths they speak of cannot be questioned. They are known to be true and disputing them is not an option. In other words, make sure you read the next couple lines carefully because they are undeniable.

    "All men are created equal." I'm not sure I have to define this one. Everyone is created equal, nobody is above anybody else. We are all entitled to the same rights and privileges.

   "That they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights." Endowed by their Creator. Because this country was founded on FREEDOM, it was not written endowed by God. They had the foresight to word it in a way that would allow religious freedom to prevail. Whoever your Creator may be, you were endowed with these unalienable Rights. Unalienable or inalienable, they are interchangeable, means incapable of being surrendered or transferred. The Rights you were endowed with cannot, in any sense, be taken away from you. They are iron-clad Rights and will be defended by the Country in which you live.

   "That among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." Among these Rights you have been endowed are Life, which is pretty obvious. Liberty, the quality or state of being FREE. The pursuit of Happiness, grants you the Right to employ measures to obtain Happiness. Whatever that happiness may be.

        This is only the first line of the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence. I want you to go back and read it again. Now that it has been broken down I hope it sinks in more. Everyone has the same rights as Americans and nobody can take them away. There are a few organizations out there that don't think so. They presume the Rights of Americans are not as important as their own beliefs.

        The organizations I'm talking about include; Chick-Fil-A, Cracker Barrel and BSA (Boy Scouts of America) among others I'm sure. These organizations have taken a public stand against gay Rights. Chick-Fil-A's president stated that they are a family business, they believe in the biblical definition of marriage and are married to their first wives. They don't support gay Rights and have taken a stand. Cracker Barrel has made a similar stand by not employing anyone suspected of being gay because they too are a family run business. The BSA have made public statements against gay Rights and ousted gay den leaders from their organization.

        Gay Rights is one of the hottest topics today and for good reason. I completely support gay Rights and I'll tell you why. I'm an American and I believe what was written in the Declaration of Independence to be true. Every one of us is entitled to the pursuit of Happiness. If that means you want to be with someone of the same sex then so be it. Whatever makes you happy. It's your Right as an American and I'll defend that till the day I die.

       I'm not gay myself, but I have some people close to me that are gay. I love them the same way I do anybody else. They aren't different or weird or dangerous. They're human beings for Christ's sake. I've served in the military with some of the best gay soldiers there are. I knew they had my back and I had theirs without question. It didn't matter that they were gay. They were soldiers. Your sexual orientation is not what makes you who you are. Some of the greatest people in history were gay. Some of the worst people in history were straight. It's because their sexual orientation had nothing to do with it. Who you choose to sleep with is not who you are!

      History repeats itself right? Remember when black people didn't have Rights? Remember when women didn't have Rights? We finally realized how ignorant it was for a Country built on Freedom to deny it's own people of the Rights we fought so hard for. History is repeating itself. I wish we could learn from our mistakes.

      I could go on for hours about how mad this whole situation makes me but I won't do that to you. I'm pretty sure you get my point. However, let me explain why these three organizations really got under my skin.

     As an Economist (well I have an Economics degree anyway) I can't understand what they were thinking. Chick-Fil-A and Cracker Barrel are consumer driven businesses. They can be family run all they want but they can't deny the fact that they are consumer driven. They sell food to the public. It only makes sense that you'd want to sell as much food as you can to as many people as possible. When you come out and make a completely ignorant comment against gay Rights you successfully alienate a group of would-be consumers. It's not just gay people that will turn away from these food establishments. Anyone that supports gay Rights, if they truly support them, will go somewhere else for their chicken and biscuits. These two companies have done the exact opposite of what they pay their marketing departments to do. And they did it by being ignorant, bigoted, self-righteous hillbillies.

    The BSA comprised a secret committee that ruled to uphold their ban on gays in the organization. They are supposed to be shaping the youth of America and teaching values we can be proud of. Intolerance? Is that something you want your kid to be force fed? That's what this whole debate is about. People's inability to tolerate a gay individual. I can guarantee the top leaders of this organization have gay family members. Maybe they aren't open about it but they're there. If you want to teach the kids of America life lessons and values, how about acceptance? How about treating others as you wish to be treated? Isn't that the Golden Rule? I'm pretty sure nobody wants to be treated the way gay people in this country are treated. As outcasts with some kind of contagious disease that makes you want to dance and have water fights. Or whatever they think. I don't know for sure. Maybe it's because I'm down to Earth and sensible.

     The main point is this; the United States of America as a whole is losing grasp on our roots. We're losing sight of what made us who we are. Freedom. Each and every one of us is entitled to it. No one organization can take that away or deny it. Intolerance is what made us stand up and fight over 200 years ago. Now we've become the intolerant ones. What happened? These are Americans I'm talking about here. I don't want to get into a discussion about illegal immigrants but they have more rights than gay Americans. How much sense does that make? NONE! Again, I could go on for pages about this. I hope you understand where I'm coming from. We're losing our way and need to get back on the track laid down for us by the great men that started this Country! Until then, to show my support of gay Rights, I'll go behind the nearest Chick-Fil-A and get a Hand-job for a Ham Sandwich from one of their gay employees. I know they're in there.