The question must be asked: What is America coming to? A private citizen who owns his own business, albeit a large one, makes a statement about his personal opinion on a hot-button issue, and those who hold a differing point of view respond by organizing a movement to put said citizen out of business. Really? Seriously?

Correct me if I’m wrong, but haven’t we buried thousands of young men and woman who gave their lives to secure the rights and freedoms all Americans are blessed to enjoy? And don’t those rights and freedoms include the freedom of speech? And, unless someone altered the Constitution and all its amendments when I wasn’t looking, that freedom applies to all Americans, not just those with whom we happen to agree. Trust me, I’m none too fond of statements by, say, members of the KKK, with regard to their opinions of Black folk. However, as hateful as I might find their speech, I acknowledge their constitutional right to it.

The simple fact that we disagree with someone’s stated opinion, no matter how vociferously, does not give us some sort of moral high ground to threaten their livelihood. And, do keep in mind, we’re talking about a private citizen, here, not someone holding public office, serving at the federal, state, or even city level. Nor are we talking about someone in a position to legislate public policy. The brouhaha might make a bit more sense if we were. As it is, what this situation boils down to, in my humble opinion, is one set of Americans hammering another American for having the audacity to express a personal opinion contrary to their own. If we keep down this road, we won’t have to worry about enemies from without. We’ll be doing a pretty bang-up job of sabotaging ourselves from within.

If you don’t like the opinion of Chick-Fil-A’s CEO, or anyone else, for that matter, feel free to say so—even loudly, if you must. But once you’ve made your point of view clear, for goodness sake, move on. This is America, after all, remember? Everybody gets to have his say.