What in the world has happened to our country’s collective psyche to cause such spectacular divisiveness at almost every corner?

America, once a haven for people who “think different,” as the famous Apple marketing slogan touted, is fast becoming a place where speaking your mind brings Old Testament-like wrath from the country’s political correctness crowd that insists everyone should think alike.

It doesn’t matter that the Constitution protects Americans’ rights to say what they want.

It doesn’t matter that it’s perfectly OK to disagree with someone and still be cordial and respectful.

None of that matters any more.

Our country has become a bunch of whiners. We complain about anything — big, little or indifferent — with which we don’t personally agree.

What’s worse, we have a pack mentality that causes large groups to turn on others. If your words offend the wrong group, you’ll have a group of protesters coming down on you hard.

Depending upon the issue, you may have the national media coming to cover the group throwing stones, too.

In the last few weeks, a few comments by the man who leads a fast-food chicken company sparked vicious outrage, just because people disagreed with him.

Chick-fil-A’s President Dan Cathy has conservative Christian beliefs and his sharing those beliefs caused a firestorm reaction.

One would think that instead of drawing more attention to what he said, his critics would have simply stopped eating there, thus protesting quietly with their wallets.

What Cathy said, however, doesn’t seem that bad to me, and it certainly doesn’t seem to cross the line of discriminating against anyone.

“We’re 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,” Cathy said.

“And I pray God’s mercy on our generation that has such a prideful, arrogant attitude that thinks we have the audacity to redefine what marriage is all about.”

Cathy’s personal opinions managed to rally thousands and thousands of Christian supporters who came out last week to show their support by organizing a national support day, encouraging people to eat at Chick-fil-A. Two days later, the backlash prompted gay Americans to have a same-sex “kiss-in” outside the restaurants.

Big city mayors lined up to suggest Chick-fil-A not be allowed to open restaurants in their cities over Cathy’s personal beliefs. Of course, such would be a discrimination and clearly against the law. What Cathy said violates no law.

Many Christians — Cathy included, apparently — believe homosexual acts are sinful, just like hundreds of other things we humans do.

Sin is sin, and we all sin — from Chick-fil-A supporters to its harshest critics.

Dissecting the first part of what Cathy said, we could just about substitute any human-based issue or behavior and the statement would still be correct, from a Christian perspective …

We’re 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 …

… Serving Him.

… Loving our fellow man.

… Caring for the earth He created.

… How we are to treat one another, even when we disagree.

 

Kevin Cooper is publisher of The Natchez Democrat. He can be reached at 601-445-3539 or kevin.cooper@natchezdemocrat.com.