Watching Out for the Rage Machine

In which it gradually dawns on me how naive I am

Have you heard about how Chick-fil-A is going to be forced by the state of New York to open up on Sundays? What a completely travesty! If we needed more evidence that Christians are being oppressed, here it is. The godless hacks at the New York state legislature have taken it upon themselves to come up with a new slap in the face to Christians and Chick-fil-A lovers everywhere with the introduction of a bill designed, no doubt, to intrude upon every business owner’s right to close down on Sundays and for their employees to worship at the church of their choosing.

Senator Lindsey Graham certainly agrees. “The idea that the state of New York is going to make a company change its policies it’s had from its founding — they want to have one day off for their employees to recognize the Lord, and they can do it,” he said on the panel show Fox & Friends on December 28th. “And to the people in New York who are pushing this: You’re in for one hell of a fight.”

He didn’t stop there, either. He later Tweeted (or Xed? What the heck do we say about that now?) the following call to arms:

“ICYMI: New York is trying to force @ChickfilA to remain open on Sunday at state rest areas. This is a blatant violation of this company’s constitutional rights, and we’re not going to let that happen without a fight. Lend your voice and tell NY to keep their hands off OUR Chick-fil-A!”

Right on, Senator! Let’s give a reading of this bill and see how it’s advancing the cause of anti-Christian persecution in this great country of ours! I’ll bet we can suss out their evil intentions from the purpose given for the bill.

“To ensure that New York State’s transportation facilities offer a reliable source of food services.” New York Assembly website

Er, well, I mean, sure. I guess I can’t really argue that rest stops should that offer food services should actually be offering food. And, well, ok, if I were driving home from a weekend road trip with my hungry family on a Sunday and popped into a rest stop looking to get fed, and the only restaurant they had was Chick-fil-A and it was closed, I might be a little put out about that. Enough to head on down the road to the next rest stop that has an open Subway, even. But this is Chick-fil-A! They’ve been closing on Sundays since they were founded in 1946. It’s part of their brand as God-loving Christian purveyors of fried chicken sandwiches! Just like their website says:

“Having worked seven days a week in restaurants open 24 hours, Truett saw the importance of closing on Sundays so that he and his employees could set aside one day to rest, enjoy time with their families and loved ones or and worship if they choose — a practice we uphold today.“(Who We Are - More Than Chicken Sandwiches | Chick-fil-A)

I guess that sounds less like a ringing endorsement of Christian worship and more of a way of saying they think it’s important to give their employees Sundays off. But let’s get back to this bill that seeks to ban this practice:

“Section 1 amends the public authorities law by adding a new section 390 that requires any contracts entered into by the New York State Thruway Authority for the operation of food services at public transportation facilities shall require that services be provided every day of the week.

Section 2 amends section 1 of chapter 154 of the laws of 1921 and adds a new subparagraph 7 establishing a policy that contracts for the operation of food services at Port Authority owned transportation facilities shall be required that services be provided every day of the week.

Section 3 establishes the effective date of the bill.” New York Assembly website

I’m no law expert, but I read that as saying that the New York State Thruway Authority can’t give out new contracts to restaurants to operate in their rest areas that aren’t open seven days a week. Oh wait, it actually says that further down in the Justification section:

“This legislation will ensure that all future contracts for food concessions at transportation facilities owned by the Thruway Authority, as well as the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, will be required to operate seven days a week, with an exclusion to temporary concessions such as farmers markets or local vendors.” New York Assembly website

Well, er, maybe I missed something. I thought there was going to be language that specifically forced Chick-fil-A to be open seven days a week in here, but it’s only talking about future contracts? And given that there are already Chick-fil-As operating at their rest areas, and those contracts extend out to 2050, then I guess it doesn’t apply to their existing restaurants at those rest areas? Just that if the Irish convenience store chain (an Irish convenience store chain operating in New York?) that operates these rest areas set up any new contracts with chain restaurants those restaurants would have to be open every day of the week.

I find my outrage simmering down a tad reading this. I mean, all this critical thinking is liable to get me to the point where I might just think this whole thing is kind of a nothingburger. And I guess I’m kind of wondering why Senator Graham is saying that “New York is trying to force Chick-fil-A to remain open on Sunday at state rest areas” when that’s pretty clearly not what the bill is saying. But he’s such a smart guy! I mean, maybe he just forgot to read the bill, and didn’t get the messages being left on his voicemail from the New York state legislators trying to do damage control about what the bill really says? Surely he wouldn’t stoop to trying to get me to be riled up about this bill for his political benefit?!

Funny, that Fox Business article doesn’t mention this detail either. All it says is that the bill would force Chick-fil-A to open on Sundays at rest areas. Seems an odd detail to leave out. I mean, it’s not like Fox Business would misrepresent this story just to drive more clicks… would they?

I mean, the Rage Machine was supposed to be just a tool of the left, wasn’t it? You know, the Rage Machine. The thing we toss facts into where they get stripped of context and nuance, and then cherry picks those details that serve our agenda and then inflates them. That machine where everything that goes in comes out just angrier and more threatening to my beliefs. This was just supposed to be what the liberal media and Democrats were using to blow things Christian conservatives say out of proportion to their meaning and purpose. You mean to tell me that right uses this also? Sakes alive!

I guess I’m not sure where I actually come down on the issue of whether or not even future contracts should be limited on this basis. Maybe Chick-fil-A should be allowed to expand in these rest areas without the constraint that they should be open every day. I’ve never been a frequent visitor to a Chick-fil-A but I did always like that they gave their people a day off every week. Maybe it’s not fair to expect one of their employees at one of these future locations to be expected to work on Sundays when their associates at the Chick-fil-A over on Main Street have the day off. And as a church-goer myself, I do think it is important for those who want to attend church not to have to have work get in the way. Of course, I also get why it is important for a rest area to be able to offer food and drink to drivers and their passengers, and it would be a bummer to have the only restaurant on hand be closed.

Seems that there might be something to talk about in regards to the proposed bill after all, but that’s not what is being talked about. My feelings of outrage have cooled to the point that I’m starting to be aware of a vaguely unpleasant sense that I was being manipulated by people with an agenda. I wonder if I’m one of the naive people being spoken about in Romans 16:

I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. (Romans 16:18 (ESV))

Whenever I get upset about something I read in the news, or something a politician or celebrity tweets, I suppose I ought to be a bit more cautious about how it gets framed by opportunists of every tribe or social-political persuasion that want to use it for their own ends. I don’t see a distinction between the left or the right on using these tactics. At best, it’s disingenuous, and at worst, it’s downright deceptive. Perhaps I should be praying the prayer of Psalm 120:

Save me, LORD, from lying lips and from deceitful tongues. (Psalms 120:2 (NIV))