The Patriot Post - Alexander's Essay 08-02-2012

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The Patriot Post - Alexander's Essay 08-02-2012
From The Federalist Patriot
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The Most Faith-Intolerant Regime in the History of Our Republic
Obama Surrogates Attack First Amendment

By Mark Alexander

August 2, 2012

"Let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle." --George Washington (Farewell Address, 1796)

No sooner had Barack Hussein Obama launched his campaign Demo-goguery assaulting the Second Amendment1 last week than his surrogates set about attacking the First Amendment.

Their target of opportunity was Chick-fil-A, the most recent entry on a long list of companies large and small that have come under attack for Christian business practices. Chick-fil-A, however, is just the proverbial tip of the iceberg when it comes to the Left's multi-vectored assault on Judeo-Christian values.

It is worth a brief review of how this attack took shape, as it is very consistent with the modus operandi of Obama's socialist cadres2.

Chick-fil-A was started by Truett Cathy in 1967; it now operates 1,614 very successful restaurants in 39 states. Years ago I met Truett and his sons Dan and Bubba, and I've crossed paths with them since by way of their far-reaching support of local and national organizations promoting traditional family values. By that I don't mean "anti-gay" organizations, but "pro-family" groups like First Things First, one of the nation's leading fatherhood advocacy groups3 managed by my friend Julie Baumgardner.

Mr. Cathy is a devoted Christian, and this context has shaped his company from top to bottom. By extension, this has also shaped the values of communities nationwide: Chick-fil-A's corporate mission statement notes, "To glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us. To have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A." In keeping with the Christian stewardship of its owners, Chick-fil-A stores are closed on Sundays, when many restaurants do vigorous business. "I was not so committed to financial success that I was willing to abandon my principles and priorities," Truett says. "Our decision to close on Sunday was our way of honoring God and of directing our attention to things that mattered more than our business."

So what offense did current Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy commit to put his company directly in the Left's sights and set off a Leftist boycott? Well, when asked in an interview about his company's "support of the traditional family," he replied, "Well, guilty as charged. 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 give God thanks for that. We want to do anything we possibly can to strengthen families. We intend to stay the course. We know that it might not be popular with everyone, but thank the Lord, we live in a country where we can share our values and operate on biblical principles."

Or ... maybe not.

In the wake of Dan's remarks, Boston mayor Thomas Menino unilaterally declared Chick-fil-A could not open franchises in the city "unless they open up their policies." Menino warned, "if they need licenses in the city, it will be very difficult," adding, "There is no place for [Chick-fil-A] along Boston's Freedom Trail. Chick-fil-A doesn't belong in Boston. We're an open city, we're a city that's at the forefront of inclusion." Those demands were followed by Obama's former chief of staff and now Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel, who said, "Chick-fil-A values are not Chicago values. They disrespect our fellow neighbors and residents. if you’re gonna be part of the Chicago community, you should reflect Chicago values." (Apparently, Chicago values include becoming the murder capital of the nation and hosting Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, the Christian-hating race baiter who, ironically, opposes same-sex marriage.) Predictably, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee also jumped over the rainbow, saying he was "very disappointed Chick-fil-A doesn't share [our] values and strong commitment to equality for everyone. ... The closest Chick-fil-A is 40 miles away, and I strongly recommend that they not try to come any closer."

Of course, the Leftist outrage with Chick-fil-A is somewhat puzzling, because according to Obama4, the Cathy family "didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen." How quickly Obama's lemmings forget! And consider this: Until just a few weeks ago, Barack Obama espoused the same view of marriage that Dan Cathy does.

Now understand, Chick-fil-A does not discriminate against those with Gender Disorientation Pathology5 in their employment or service practices. That would be contrary to Christian doctrine, which instructs that we are to love the sinner and hate the sin. You can't love someone if you shut him or her (or it) out, and despite ignorant protests from the Left, genuine Christians reach out to all people. The company policy states, "The Chick-fil-A culture and service tradition in our restaurants is to treat every person with honor, dignity and respect -- regardless of their belief, race creed, sexual orientation or gender."

The same can be said of tens of thousands of other businesses, whose Christian owners infuse their organizations with faith-based values. Some of those brands are Big Idea Entertainment (VeggieTales), Forever 21, eHarmony, Whole Foods, Tom's of Maine, Interstate Battery, Tyson Foods, ServiceMaster, Marriott International, Alaska Airlines, In-N-Out Burger and Hobby Lobby. Yes, even The Patriot Post has an official Statement of Faith6 as adopted by our Board and renewed each year. (No word yet from Menino, Emanuel and Lee about boycotting the rest of Christendom.)

The venomous Leftist assaults against the First Amendment and its protection clause ensuring the free exercise of faith not only earned the three mayors condemnation from even the ACLU, but also gave rise to a Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day on Wednesday of this week. If your local Chick-fil-A is not open today, that's because the nationwide response in support of this company depleted their product inventory yesterday. The massive turnout in support of traditional family values created blocks-long lines around some Chick-fil-As, and my sense is that those same folks will be turning out in long lines at the polls in November.

Of course, Leftists are the consummate hypocrites. On the one hand, they boycott a certain restaurant because its CEO subscribes to the Judeo-Christian family model established through all of recorded history but is a model that doesn't comport with Obama's homosexual agenda7. On the other hand, they fill the tanks of their cars with fuel purchased from Islamic cultures that condone the stoning of homosexuals.

Obama is a disciple of hate, stewarded by his "religious mentor," Jeremiah Wright8 and a long list of Marxist mentors9 that includes his atheist mother. As theologian G. K. Chesterton once wrote, "When people stop believing in God, they don't believe in nothing -- they believe in anything." That defines Obama's constituencies and explains his election.

In the timeless words of John Adams, from 1776, "It is religion and morality alone, which can establish the Principles upon which Freedom can securely stand."

To that end, Obama's assault on faith has been relentless, as it must be in order to replace Liberty, as enshrined in Rule of Law10, with tyranny under the rule of men.

There are, of course, some defining moments of Obama's unmitigated hostility toward Christians. In April 2008, we saw a hint when then-candidate Obama defined grassroots Christians as folks who "get bitter" and "cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them."

But Obama most notably framed his disdain for Christians once it became apparent that his Socialist Democrats11 were going to suffer significant setbacks in the 2010 midterm election.