When I was much, much younger, I attended a Christian conference called "Marketplace" in the Chicago Hilton Towers, along Michigan Avenue. You may have seen this place -- it's the gold-encrusted hotel featured at the end of "The Fugitive". You know that roof chase scene at the end? I've been out on that roof a number of times.
But, as usual, I digress...
I saw fliers for a business called "Chick-Fil-A", looking for people interested in getting involved -- I think it was looking for franchisees. Never heard of the place, but it was clear they were trying to look serious about ethics from their blurb.
Now I know what all that was about. Chick-Fil-A has great chicken sandwiches. And a funny logo. And they give the workers one day off a week. Always. Radical.
I'm not the only admirer:
For a big-time corporate type, Dan Cathy doesn't put on any airs. He goes to 40 or 50 of these openings a year. And there he was out in the cold at 6:30 a.m.
Cathy gave the crowd a message that you don't often hear from a business tycoon. And, without prompting, he repeated it to me later in the warm light of day.
"We're here to glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us and to have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A," he said, quoting the company's mission statement.
Sitting in a booth in the new store, Cathy pointed to a black-and-white photo on the wall. It shows him and his brother at the opening of one of their father's early restaurants nearly 40 years ago. His father, Truett Cathy, had led a prayer right before it was snapped.
On Monday night, during final preparations, the staff at the new Hernando store said a prayer, too.
"We've not changed our story," Cathy said. And then he quoted a biblical proverb by chapter and verse: "In all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths."
One way that Chick-fil-A acknowledges God is by closing its doors on Sundays so workers can go to church or just stay home with their families and rest. It sponsors foster homes. Its kids' meals typically include character-building books. And Chick-fil-A is hugely profitable.
Again, Cathy says, "God has blessed this business."
John R. Mitten, the local owner-operator of the store, has similar convictions. He says the company doesn't require its employees to be Christians - that would be illegal. But it seeks honesty, integrity and a servant's heart from each applicant, he said.
"We look for characteristics and qualifications that are most typically found in believers," he said.
Chick-fil-A's arrival in Hernando County will satisfy our longing for chicken sandwiches, waffle fries and fresh-squeezed lemonade. But it is clear Chick-fil-A wants its influence to be felt far beyond the walls of its dining room.
Who says you have to choose between true profits (of a non-superficial kind) and making the world a better place?
Sean,
Your various statements are contradictory. You say a company can ground itself in a set of values -- but then it can't choose to associate more with those whose lives reflect those values, or support causes that do? What does it mean to 'support' a set of values while not 'supporting' them -- lip service?
...it seeks honesty, integrity and a servant's heart from each applicant, he said.
Then you claim they should be hiring all kinds of people. Yet they just stated they do hire all kinds of people.
You call companies "our companies." "Our?" Those companies aren't "our" companies. We're not yet (thank heavens) a socialist nation, where we "own" every single business out there. Believe it or not, people still get to "own" their own businesses! They can still support whatever charities or political parties they want.
What you call "flirtiing with danger" is what our country is founded on -- freedom of political and religious expression, even if you own a business (as most the founding fathers did).
But if you believe each business owner should be told exactly who to hire, and what values ("honesty, integrity and a servant's heart") he or she may or may not be allowed to use as a criteria for promotion, then you have basicly taken away the basic freedom someone has to do what they want with their own business, and to make it reflect their own core values.
Which, I suppose for some, is the entire point.
I fear for, and fear, this generation. The education they received has left them so morally and politically stupid that they think the basic principles our country was founded on -- for the past two hundred-plus years -- are a scary, creeping form of totalitarianism -- and they thinking taking away those freedoms would be a really, really good move!
"Why, we can't let a business owner support the Republican party, or give to pro-life causes! That's dangerous."
And I can't help but notice that in every case -- and Sean is just one example among so many -- that a viceral dislike of Christians or Judeo-Christian values is a strong motivator for those kinds of demands for loss of liberty and decision-making ability.
While I agree that Chick-Fil-A is entitled to ground itself on values from Christianity, I think that their anti-abortion stance is wrong. We are flirting with danger if our companies begin aligning themselves to one religion or political party - how about inclusion for all? Man/women/christian/buddhist/gay/straight/pro-abortion/anti-abortion?
Posted by: Sean on August 16, 2005 09:01 AM