Loss of a Great Man
The world lost an inspirational man, an amazing entrepreneur, and a Christian conservative last night when Truett S. Cathy passed away peacefully in his sleep at the ripe old age of 93. As most people know, Cathy was the founder of Chick-fil-A, whose faith, perseverance and hard work took him from paper route to billionaire. His story is very inspiring for any young person who has dreams of making it big. After all, he was born dirt poor in Eatonton, Georgia, of all places. Who would have expected him to succeed like he did?
Hard-working, Even as a Child
Cathy’s family hit very hard times after loosing their farm when he was very small. They moved to Atlanta, but his father’s income selling insurance just was not enough to feed them all. Cathy’s mother began to take in boarders to help ends meet, and Cathy helped her out setting the table, cleaning, making beds, etc. At the young age of 8, he started his very first “business,” selling magazines and Cokes door to door, and setting up a stand to sell the soda. He also had a paper route for the Atlanta Journal and Constitution. Cathy was a very hard-working little 8 year old, someone whom you would think parents all over would want their kids to emulate.
He Was a Giver, to God, and to His Fellow Man
When Cathy was still just starting out in the restaurant industry, he met a girl who would become the love of his life. Jeannette McNeil shared her beliefs on tithing with Cathy when they were engaged. According to the Bible, ten percent of their income should go towards serving God and helping others. Cathy decided to not only tithe his money, but his time as well, and began helping in his community. When he first opened Chick-fil-A, Cathy made the choice to tithe ninety percent of his earnings and live off of ten percent.
He founded the WinShape Centre in 1984 through which thousands of dollars in scholarships and other programs have helped underprivileged kids go to school and meet their own dreams. Cathy also formed WinShape homes which has fostered hundreds of foster kids throughout Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee. Proving the theory that, “You can’t out-give God,” Cathy was quoted by Forbes magazine in 2007 as being worth 1.2 billion dollars and later was quoted by Forbes as being worth 6.2 billion, despite tithing ninety percent and giving so much to others.
Political Controversy
In 2012, Dan Cathy, Truett’s son, was asked his opinion on gay marriage. When he explained that the Cathy family believes in traditional marriage and the sanctity of the family unit, a great deal of controversy ensued. Sadly, a great number of Americans who demand equality and tolerance became intolerant when the Cathy family did not agree with their stance. Those people screamed out for Americans to boycott Chick-fil-A. Thousands of Americans responded by supporting the restaurants so strongly that traffic jams were caused from the long lines. Of course, some showed up to protesst, but true to the nature of their founder, Chick-fil-A employees showed no hate. The workers at Chick-fil-A were even seen giving free sandwiches and water to those who were outside their restaurants picketing them.
Truett Cathy Dies, Both Sides Jump on the Bandwagon
The death of Truett S. Cathy brought on a social media storm that many of us never saw coming. How sad would he be? How ashamed. Those who protested his son’s statements against gay marriage have taken to Twitter and other sites to preach their own hatred and intolerance. Various threads have sprung up celebrating the death of Cathy. So much hate is being spread over words that were not even his, although they did represent his family’s religious beliefs.
As reported by many sites, the Liberals are out in full force to stomp all over Cathy’s grave. Sadly, they aren’t the only ones using a good man’s death to push their own agenda. Conservatives are guilty as well. Reports have popped up all over the internet showing how intolerant and hateful the Liberals are. While some Liberals are using Cathy’s death to spread their hate, Conservatives are using it to prove the Liberals are “bad.” Yes, there are some horrible posts being made about this man.
Apparently, there are many people whose parents didn’t teach them not to speak ill of the dead. However, the disgusting disrespect of those few does not represent how every Democrat feels no more than the Westboro Baptist Church represents all Christians. Let’s drop the hate, why don’t we, and for just one day give a good man the respect he deserves.
