By Rep. Allen Farley
This country was built by men, and women, who stood tall. They said what they meant, and meant what they said. They came to this great land in search of religious freedom. And, yes, they fought for, and established “One Nation under God”.
Samuel Adams, one of America’s first freedom fighters said: “A general dissolution of principles and manners will more surely overthrow the liberties of America than the whole force of the common enemy. While the people are virtuous they cannot be subdued; but when once they lose their virtue, they will be ready to surrender their liberties to the first external or internal invader.”
Virtuous: Conforming to moral and ethical principles; morally excellent; upright.
Dan Cathy is a man whose family has established an outstanding restaurant that specializes in chicken. But, selling a chicken sandwich, and being chicken are two totally different things. When it comes to conforming to moral and ethical principles, Dan Cathy is morally excellent and upright. To use his own words: “Guilty as charged”.
I retired in 2010 after serving as a law enforcement officer in Jefferson County for 37 years. I truly felt that God had allowed me to see things that needed to be shared in the Alabama Statehouse. I still believe that. I spent a career watching our family values change with our neighborhoods. There aren’t simply different people living in the homes in our old neighborhoods. It’s not just our parents who are no longer there. Our parent’s values are missing. Today we just move. We don’t take ownership. We don’t take responsibility. We don’t take a stand. Let someone else deal with it. We just move. (That’s not what Jesus meant by “turning the other cheek”). Did we really believe that evil would not follow our children to the suburbs? Maybe that’s the “internal invader” Samuel Adams was referring to?
I believe the internal invader is Satan himself. The Prince of darkness. He convinces us to turn and run. He tells us that good will not grow where we are. In Mark 4:17 Jesus states: “But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away”. Friends, if you move every time a storm comes, you will never grow roots deep enough to take the strong winds. Godly Americans must stand firm and allow our roots of faith to hold us.
Many of our ancestors fought and died for this soil we call America. They came to this country because of religious persecution. Their belief in God’s word inspired the pledge “One Nation under God.” Our current persecutions are coming at us “because of the word”. Are we still “One Nation under God?” Dan Cathy believes we are. So do I.
On a recent Wednesday afternoon Muriel and I had the privilege to sit for almost an hour in the drive-thru at the McCalla Chick-Fil-A. It was awesome. We watched as people walked for blocks with their families to stand in a long line to be served. We saw long lines with luxury cars, and cars barely running, waiting to be served. We saw all races and nationalities proud to wait to be served. After I placed my order, I heard the voice of the young employee say “It’s my pleasure to serve you”. There is a message here!
The August 2012 publication of QSR Magazine listed the Cathy family chicken restaurant with gross sales of $2.9 million per location in 2011. That outpaced the average unit sales of runner-up McDonald’s Corporation by $400,000. (Chick-Fil-A restaurants are closed on Sunday’s).
Family values are real. “Big Bird” is not. Let’s turn the television off and read stories from a book that teaches about the “service” the Cathy family believes in. The secret recipe must include service. I pray our elected officials are paying attention. God Bless America!
