Another Reason To Avoid McDonald's?

We would all be well-advised to remove McDonald's food from our diet. Now there is another reason. The American Family Association is calling for a boycott of McDonald's over the company's financial support of the gay and lesbian political agenda. McDonald's is a "corporate partner" of the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, a privilege it acquired by donating $20,000. A McDonald's executive now sits on the board of NGLCC and the company's logo is featured on the NGLCC web site.

It is important to note that the AFA is not asking McDonald's to refuse service to gay people, avoid hiring them, or to discriminate in any way. What they want is for McDonald's to simply remain neutral in the ongoing culture war. Given that NGLCC actively lobbies the government for things like same-sex "marriage," McDonald's is effectively taking sides in this battle. And it's the wrong side, in the view of many Christians and family groups.

What's interesting to me is the official reaction from McDonald's. According to LifeSiteNews, a company spokesman said the boycott is motivated by "hate" and they have refused to give an inch. What does this tell us? Presumably, McDonald's is not in business to lose money. If they thought the boycott was going to cost them a significant amount of business, they would give in immediately. They haven't. Why?

If affinity for one group risks losing the business of another, the larger group ought to get its way. That's the cold, hard reality of the corporate world. McDonald's has calculated that it has more to gain by courting gay and lesbian groups than it will lose by insulting Christians and others who wish to defend traditional marriage.

Other companies have reached the same calculation. Look who else is listed on the NGLCC web site as a corporate sponsor: American Airlines, Intel, Wells Fargo, Motorola, American Express, IBM, Kodak, Burger King, PepsiCo, OfficeMax, AT&T, and more. All these companies think there is some kind of value in supporting gay and lesbian causes. Obviously, they've concluded that gay people are more valuable than faithful Christians.

I don't like saying it, but the evidence is that we've lost this battle, folks. Yes, we have numbers on our side (for now). Unfortunately the gay marriage people are better organized and funded. They're going to get their way. It is only a matter of time.

As for the boycott, I'm really not sure how effective it would be anyway. Most of their locations are actually owned by franchisees who may or may not agree with what the decisions made by corporate headquarters. McDonald's does some good things, too. I understand the impulse to boycott, but the truth is that pretty much every large company has some kind of objectionable activity or policy. We can't boycott everyone. With all due respect to Donald Wildmon and the AFA, I think there may be better ways to get the point across.