Ah Yes! Tolerance! The one thing we cannot tolerate is intolerance.
The evangelization of culture is all the more important in our times, when a ‘dictatorship of relativism’ threatens to obscure the unchanging truth about man’s nature, his destiny and his ultimate good — Pope Benedict XVI, Glasgow Scottland, Sept. 16, 2010
Pope Benedict coined the expression “Dictatorship of Relativism” during his homily in the “Mass for the Election of the Roman Pontiff,” on April 18, 2005. It has often been the assumed that the theme of “counter-relativism” is one of the driving lines of his Pontificate. Perhaps so, in a certain sense. He has made strong statements on the theme of relativism many times in the past, calling it the “Central Problem for the Faith Today.”
However, I would like to suggest that, although the Pope wants us to be aware of the insidious threat relativism poses to our culture, his emphasis is more on the importance of bolstering the faith. His main thrust is on the evangelization of culture (the way he beings the quote cited above).
That’s why I just Luv Chick-fil-A!
Chick-fil-A has always been a values-based company. Being from Georgia, I’ve long been familiar with the franchise — since about the time I could pronounce the words “Eat Mor Chickn.” One of the first things a southern boy learns about Chik-fil-A is that you can’t eat there on Sunday. It’s not open. And if you have not yet been pre-disposed to call that radical, fundamentalist, Bible-thumpin’ fanaticism, you just simply understand this company’s got standards and principles. A young mind brought up in the faith just gets it. You don’t have to explain it to him. The culture itself evangelizes, once the culture has been evangelized. The effect is what we call education.
Maybe I’m being dogmatic here. I’m might be the one who just doesn’t get it. Someone would say I’m probably just a washed-up Gen-Xer, who’s bought into his own set of culturally preconditioned ideas about God and culture, lost somewhere between the first StarWars movie and Nirvana.
According to the ultra-tolerant mainstream mindset (so it seems), you are either a navel-gazer, a reactionary, or “one of us.” Realistically, what does that mean?
It’s okay for Starbucks to express their support of homosexual marriage — to fund it’s being passed in to law. It is bigotry for a company like Chick-fil-A to state that they would not support such a policy (which is all they actually said) based on their system of values.
When Home Depot helps pass the legalization of gay marriage in New York, that goes virtually unnoticed. When Chick-fil-A says:
We are very much supportive of the family — the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that.
Rahm Emmanuel must react swiftly, the Mayor of Boston moves to bar them from the city, and The Muppets cancel the Show!
Get it?
Your opinion counts in the dictatorship of relativism if and only if you have the right opinion: Theirs. They preach tolerance and diversity but will not tolerate a diversity of opinions.
America… Wake up.
And eat mor chickn. Unless you’re a vegan, in which case you don’t have to (Am I not tolerant?).
Below are some links to mor Chick-fil-A articles (good ones) from bloggers who appear to be just as opinionated as I am. I think they make an excellent point. If a picture is worth a thousand words, check out the blog from Twitchy and keep scrolling down. Yur boycot ain’t workn.
And just to leave you with a smile… enjoy the video!
Mor Chickn:
Biltrix 
Reblogged this on Perpetual Learner and commented:
The links at the bottom are worth following too…
Saw your FB post …phobia this morning. Good one!
Great post.
Glad you liked it!
The Chick Fil- A here in my neighborhood had a line of cars winding around the building at the take out window. It looked like a HUGE rise in business over what they had previous to the controversy. The lady at the counter verified this; told me business had really increased. Go Oklahoma!
Go Sooners!
Reblogged this on Life Vigil and commented:
This is a great post! I’m reblogging in Life Vigil since upholding marriage as institituted by God is a key component to defending the sanctity of life.
Family life is the crucible for the culture of life. Thanks for reblogging!
Thanks for the link, James!
Your post is a wonderful summation of all this, especially the last part:
—“Your opinion counts in the dictatorship of relativism if AND ONLY IF you have the right opinion: Theirs.
They preach tolerance and diversity but will not tolerate a diversity of opinions.”—
Perfectly worded. Way to go, partner.
You’re welcome! Thanks for the great post over at 2 Heads are Better Than 1.
Reblogged this on and commented:
I was going to write something on this, but this says it very well. That and I am at a 24 hour food fast with our High School Youth Group. (there watching am movie right now) Anyway, I wish there as a Chick-fil-A closer to me so I could go and support them, and since I am currently pretty hungry (note the food fast thing from before) I would be ready to order the entire left side of the menu right about now.
24hr food fast! And on a Saturday with highs-schoolers. How do you pull that one off? Hats off to you!
reblogging and shared on fb. thank you!!!!
Thanks Gracie! God bless!
Reblogged this on The Peanut Gallery and commented:
“Your opinion counts in the dictatorship of relativism if and only if you have the right opinion: Theirs. They preach tolerance and diversity but will not tolerate a diversity of opinions.
America… Wake up.
And eat mor chickn. Unless you’re a vegan, in which case you don’t have to (Am I not tolerant?).”
Thanks Peanut Gallery!
A while back, fed up with anti-Christian, intolerant leftist rants, and militant political correctness, I cancelled our subscription to the local newspaper. As a result, I am not always well-informed. . . One minute I have never heard of Chic-Fil-A, the next minute, I am hearing songs about it, random commentators commentating, and finally, this wonderful post that pulled it all together. Now I know what is going on.
Unbelievable.
I wish we did have the Chic-Fil-A franchise in our state, because then I could ignore the boycott and “vote” with my wallet.
I have always noticed that far far right and the far far left are practically indistinguishable. My leftist coworkers, taking courage in their overwhelming numbers, really gave me a lot of flack for this observation, and for the letter to the editor that I wrote to my former newspaper.
Strong belief brings out passions. And passions tend to move us to extreems. The passionate believer who finds truth in moderation looks arcane to this polarized culture.
In this country there’s an epidemic lack of cultural depth-perception, were everyone views and explains everything in terms of left and right. So when an organization expresses its adherence to values that run contrary to the supposed politically correct standard, the mainstream automatically brands it as the enemy and tries to ostracize it. This knee-jerk reaction (if we are benign enough to assume that this is not orchestrated) only breeds more polarization, which makes it harder not to get pulled to the extreems.
My favorite line from Aristotle seems appropriate here: Generally speaking, people are not good at making distinctions.
Reinkat, your letter to the editor of that newspaper was a good move even if it provoked outrage among your coworkers.
I fear for the future of our country because of this. As we become more and better educated as a whole, we seem to be thinking less and less. Everything is black and white, nobody gives value to seeing gray anymore. Those who do are shouted down–“brands it as the enemy and tries to ostracize it” as you so wisely put it. The cultural trend towards hedonism and materialism are taking over, and rational thought is being trampled.
I just re-read this and it seems so negative, but I do feel this way. I trust in God, and His plan, but it seems there will be so much struggle on the way. St. Michael the Archangel, pray for us.
It is what it is. If the truth is negative, having negative thoughts and feelings about it can be quite justified. I see the onslaught of hedonism and materialism too and I think the cure might be more bitter to swallow than the poison itself, but if that’s what we’ve gotten ourselves into… St Michael, Pray For Us!
One very important thing, I think, is this: Don’t let’em get your goat!
“The culture itself evangelizes, once the culture has been evangelized. The effect is what we call education.” – that is so true.
I support them as well. Thank you for this post. It is an important one.
Thanks for the comment!
If we can find creative and original ways of evangelizing the culture — what the Church is calling for now — we can get the ball rolling. A lot of this, of course, is the work of the Holy Spirit, but we can always be better agents. Keep up the good blogging CND!
Thanks and you too! I agree completely. It is so important right now.
Driving East on 90 we made a point to google the closest Chic-Fil-A. For us it was in Erie PA. The place was packed. Families of all nationalities. Told them it was our first time ever and wanted to support them. Said they were busier than ever! Crazy busy all day! The peach milk shake was yummy and the chicken was the best. Where do you find a restroom that looks like home – hand lotion, mouthwash and tissues in a basket! AND fresh flowers on each table. Like their style and values. We will be back.
Thank you so much for sharing this. The fact that Chick-fil-A is gaining new satisfied costumers from this is a total backfire on the attempted boycott. Mayors of Boston, Chicago, and San Fran can eat their words now.
From what I’ve read both mayors have recanted.
Guess the mayors had to “eat mor cro”
Nice!
Very nice! This Wednesday I’ll be picking up some take-out for my wife and kids to show my support (plus, I enjoy a good spicy chicken sandwich!)
That’s right! Wednesday is Chick-fil-A day! A spicy chicken sandwich is worth waiting in line for, any day of the week!