Beck: When You Censor Diversity of Thought, You've Arrived at Orwell's 1984

For the better part of a month, TheBlaze has been teeming with articles related to the Chick-fil-A controversy, including details about the progressive-led boycott campaign against the popular chicken eatery and subsequent "Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day" held on August 1st. Lawmakers, activists, entertainers and pundits alike have all come out to voice their opinion of what many consider a 2012 campaign tactic driven by the left.

During his morning broadcast, Glenn Beck noted that the issue surrounding Chick-fil-A is not so much about homosexuality as it is about trying to intimidate people into relinquishing their freedom of speech. Since the topic has Beck up in arms, it was also a focus of Thursday's evening broadcast.

Some of the more egregious acts taken against Chick-fil-A include not just boycotts, but even calls for death. People took to Twitter and other social media in protest of "Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day," saying they hoped white Christians would "choke" and "die" on while eating their chicken. A college lecturer harassed a young woman working at the Chick-fil-A drive-through, telling her that she worked for a "horrible corporation" with "horrible values." He then asked her how she could live with herself know that she worked for such a company. The goal was simple: Intimidate employees into quitting and intimidate others from seeking employment at Chick-fil-A.

Then, Fox News' Shepard Smith also made a slur against the eatery and its supporters, dubbing the "appreciation day" a "national day of intolerance." Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and a handful of other lawmakers even went to so far as to tell the chain their city didn't want its business and to essentially "get out" of town.

While Chick-fil-A founders have every right to express their opinion, and Chick-fil-A opponents have every right to choose not to patronize the establishment, it is not within a mayor's right -- as steward of a city that is home to people of all walks -- to attempt to run a local business out of town simply because he disagrees (or, wants to seem as if he disagrees) with its corporate ideology.

On Thursday evening, a passionate Beck asked who the real bigots are, and wondered if there is truly any difference between Code Pink, Westboro Baptist, and the Chick-fil-A protesters. Based on the mounting evidence, there may be little to none.

Beck reviewed the developments in the saga, pointing out the hypocrisy and hate leveled by members of the Left:

"Do you actually know anyone who hates somebody based on their skin color?" Beck asked incredulously. Or for that matter, based on a person's sexual orientation or religion? Beck said he doesn't know anybody like that except for leftist's who attack Christians based on their religious beliefs.

"There are a lot of legitimate reasons to hate people," but those are not among them. Like Beck, people of good will tend to judge others only on the content of his or her character.

"Diversity doesn’t mean anything anymore because they suppress diverse opinion...then they try to shame people into not saying what they truly believe. We are censoring diversity of thought." Beck likened this kind of censorship to that endured by Galileo when he posited that the earth rotated around the sun -- a declaration for which he was imprisoned. Ironically, no one remembers the name of those who jailed Galileo, but today, centuries later, his name is remembered and written in history books.

The point Beck hoped to make is that those who seek to stifle diversity of though always lose in the end because they can never "counter a point with a point or a civilized debate" they can only run others down with vitriol and intimidation, as in the case of Chick-fil-A.

"When you arrive at a place where you cannot speak, or think, or have an honest debate," Beck said, then you have arrived at George Orwell's 1984.

Ironically