Let’s say you were trying to make a point yesterday, so you
went to Chick-Fil-A to support a company’s right to state
their beliefs. Setting aside the fact that the real issue is that they give
millions of dollars to hate organizations that think I’m mentally ill, and that’s where
your money goes when you eat there, let’s explore what you could have done with
that money instead.
Though I haven’t eaten there in years because there are
tastier ways to push myself towards clogged arteries and a heart attack, I feel
like I can safely assume that the average customer spends at least $5 on a
visit. You can do a lot of things with 5 bucks, and many of them might ACTUALLY
make a difference in the world. Also, given the ridiculously long lines
yesterday, I would also like to assume that it probably took about an hour to
even get said food. Time is money, people, so let’s talk about what you could
have done in that hour as well.
- If you gave $5 to a food bank, you would provide 40 meals for a neighbor in need (many of whom are children, who won’t get food otherwise).
- If you walked for an hour at a 3 mph pace, and you weigh 200 pounds, you could have burned 480 calories (and if you’ve been eating fast food, you need probably need this walk).
- For $5, you could plant 5 trees to replenish the rainforest.
- You could spend an hour serving lunch to hungry and homeless people at a soup kitchen.
Other worthy organizations that actually deserve the money,
just to name a few:
- The Humane Society: http://www.humanesociety.org/
- American Cancer Society: http://www.cancer.org/
- Make-A-Wish Foundation: http://www.wish.org/
- Doctors Without Borders: http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/
- Mercy Ships: http://www.mercyships.org/
Other ways to spend an hour:
- Assist at an animal shelter.
- Visit seniors in nursing homes.
- Clean a highway that you or your organization have adopted.
- Give blood to the American Red Cross, which is experiencing a shortage of all blood types.
- Plant a tree.
So while you spent your time and money at a fast food chain
that seeks to treat me like a second-class citizen, you could have been making
a real difference with organizations that seek to spread love instead of hate. You’ve
made your choice already, but going forward, maybe you should really look deep
inside and ask yourself “Do I want to make a point, or do I want to make a
difference?”
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to give money to Capital Area Food Bank of Texas.
