Dear Mikey,
I am writing to lodge a complaint about the U.S. Military’s support of NASCAR, specifically their authorization of military flyovers at ever NASCAR race, and the sponsorship of teams by various branches of the military.
I have been a race fan for as long as I can remember. I grew up in a family where my father raced cars for many years and I have spent many afternoons and evenings at race tracks around the country. I also enjoy watching NASCAR races on TV, but I never attend them because of their partnership with specifically Christian religious groups (and, as you know, I am Jewish).
NASCAR has always engaged in exclusionary religious practices. While they not only allow Christian proselytizing groups, in some cases actually partner with them. Here is a link to just one example of a group that is being allowed by NASCAR to use their events and facilities to engage in aggressive Christian proselytizing: http://www.whowon.com/sResults.asp?SanctionID=230&StoryID=286686
Not only does NASCAR give access to Christian outreach groups, they begin every race with a Christian-specific prayer (always “in Jesus’ name”). More than anything else, this is why I do not personally attend NASCAR events. And in fact, rather than watching them live on TV, I record the races and then just fast forward past this part of the program that is patently offensive to me. However, that means I also miss the military flyover. You see, NASCAR always begins races with a Christian prayer, immediately followed by the Star Spangled Banner being sung accompanied by a military flyover. For a casual observer this implies military support for the Christian prayer along with the Star Spangled Banner; and this is not an accident. NASCAR sees itself as a bulwark of the “America as a Christian Nation” crowd.
NASCAR has never allowed other faiths to have space on “vendor row” at any event to spread their “religious message”. Yet the U.S. government, in the form of the United States Military, supports NASCAR with flyovers, sponsors race teams and cars, and sometimes even provides color guards. As a Jewish American U.S. Navy Veteran who proudly served my Country honorably, this offends me.
I suppose, however, I have never been so angry as I was last year (I no longer recall the specific race) when the NASCAR Sprint Cup announcers on Fox Sports were talking about the annual NASCAR awards banquet being moved from New York City to Las Vegas. They repeatedly spoke derisively about the “New York crowd” and used other terms that have historically implied “Jews”. They spoke repeatedly about how the New York crowd wasn’t appropriate for NASCAR. They repeatedly made derisive comments using code words for “Jews”. As one might imagine, I wrote to both Fox Sports and NASCAR, but of course received no response.
How is it that our military can be supporting what is not only a patently Christian organization, but one that so openly disdains Jewish Americans? Isn’t there anything that can be done about this? Why should the tax dollars of Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Pagan, Atheist and other Non-Christian Americans be spent to support exclusion and the advancement of the Christian faith?
Respectfully,
(name withheld)
