Good evening.

We’re coming to you live on Chick-Fil-A appreciation day, and there are rumors of .25 mile long lines for chicken sandwiches.

There are a lot of serious things to say on the subject of gay marriage, and gender, and where the momentum of our society lies. Here are two of them, quite seriously intended, and yet spoken in a light tone.

First – seriously, this debate has made ammunition out of chicken sandwiches. Does anyone else feel the need to laugh at themselves? Would a banana cream pie help?

Second, it would be nice to get past the part of the debate where we call each other names. Dan Cathy’s comments, which lit this fire? Not a single anti-gay word. He simply affirmed the primacy of traditional marriage, without any hint of irrational fear of gays, or suggestion that gay people are inherently evil.

Freedom of speech assumes that you will prefer one thing to another, that you will value one thing over another. As even some gay advocates have said, it assumes you will have the right to think and say whatever you like, and not be punished by the government for those thoughts and words.

So, if you felt your pulse quicken or your blood pressure rise over this national showdown, relax. You should have known that there’d be long lines at Chick-Fil-A. There have been long lines every time I’ve been there.

Rather, gird your loins and comport yourself for a robust conversation. We can do better than pecking each other to death.