Recently, my folks visited me in the desolate land that is Ames. Along their journey to get here, they had stopped over in another town and got Chick-fil-A sandwiches. Naturally, with all the heated political and religious issues stirred up by the restaurant franchise, I immediately said: “So how was your drive up here?” And I never brought up Chick-fil-A because my time with my family is short, and I wished not to waste it upon our political and religious differences.

And yet the subject is too encompassing to ignore completely, so I shall chip in my two cents on the Chick-fil-A debate: It is better than KFC. The statement is blunt, I understand, but Chick-fil-A serves waffle fries, and no other restaurant trumps that — except Bob Evans, which has smiley fries. I also prefer Chick-fil-A for healthier choices because, I recall, KFC serves a majority of its food in buckets and is home to the Double Down sandwich (the buns are made of meat) and a family dinner deal that included a chocolate Bundt cake. I choose Chick-fil-A not because of President Dan Cathy’s stance on gay marriage or the organizations that it donates, but the quality and service of their food.

Of course this is a radical notion to think that a restaurant merely serves food and not a political and religious agenda, but I support it wholeheartedly and especially in the case of Chick-fil-A. Cathy may have an opinion on preserving traditional marriage, but this does not affect the taste of my chicken sandwich — nor does it prevent me from eating it.

And this is why this is not an issue of rights.

On Feb. 1, 1960, in a F.W. Woolworth Company store, four black freshmen of the nearby North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College purchased school supplies and sat down to the lunch counter to be served. When they had to leave due to the store’s closing, they still had not been served. This was the very first “sit-in.” The four — Joseph McNeil, Franklin McCain, David Richmond and Ezell Blair Jr. — had nonviolently demonstrated the denial of service in such restaurants to a particular race.

Last Friday, according to the Huffington Post, “kiss-ins” were staged at Chick-fil-As across the nation. Concocted by Carly McGehee, a Dallas political activist, these protests occurred inside and around the restaurants to protest the opinion of Chick-fil-A’s president. These “kiss-ins” did not shut down flabbergasted Chick-fil-As or stop Cathy from believing in what he believes is right; the protesters simply expressed their opinion. McGehee and her “kiss-in” participants were never denied service. In fact, the company had a “record-setting day” in prices due the protesters. They were not refused or forced away. They were welcomed because Chick-fil-A is a business. The rights of homosexuals as well those in support of gay marriage were never impinged upon because every person means profit. And profit does not discriminate against race, religion, sexuality or stance of certain issues.

No, the primary purpose of these protests was to publicize Chick-fil-A’s support of “hate and bigotry and intolerance,” according to McGehee in addition to responding to the previous Wednesday’s Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day. The primary organization supported by Chick-fil-A is the WinShape Foundation; it is also founded by the Cathys. Yet browsing the organization’s site, one finds “warm and fuzzy snapshots of winding country roads and rustic cabins along with links to a cornucopia of social welfare programs the foundation funds — from foster homes to kids’ camps to college scholarships — that would seem to be the furthest thing from controversial,” according to CNN as well as my own personal viewing of the website.

The rub comes from WinShape’s sponsorship of traditional, “biblical,” family units. Yet this does not discriminate against same-sex marriage; nor does it promote anti-gay sentiments. It is the choice of the organization to provide patronage to, say, Christian families.

A scholarship set up to benefit an applicant who has an ethnic heritage from, for example, the Slavic nations receives no harsh criticism, protest or diatribe because it doesn’t benefit people from Nordic nations. Why? Because there is an organization to fund scholarships for people who descended from the Nordic countries.

Amazon.com’s founder and CEO Jeff Bezos pledged $2.5 million to Washington United for Marriage, proving there is backing for both sides to this debate — a corporate balance I guess. But like I said, none of this affects my chicken sandwich or waffle fries, so let me finish my bite before I express my opinion.