A VETERAN’S THOUGHTS

OUR HISTORY TEACHES US THAT AMERICA CAME TO BE BECAUSE OF PEOPLE ESCAPING RELIGIOUS OPPRESSION. YOUR ORGANIZATION WANT TO OPPRESS AND SUPRESS RELIGION. YOU ARE ABOUT AS ANTI-AMERICAN AS THE TALIBAN. IT SEEMS THAT THE BEST DNA FROM YOUR FATHER RAN DOWN YOUR MOM’S LEG, AND THE BAD DNA STAYED PUT. WITH PEOPLE LIKE YOU, OUR COUNTRY WILL BE LUCKY TO SURVIVE.
(name withheld)

Hi (name withheld),

Thank you for your rather graphic note to MRFF.

Our country did indeed spring, at least in part, from those brave Pilgrims seeking religious freedom and escape from religious oppression. That’s why we at MRFF are in business. Freedom of religion in the military. The Military, as well as civilians, may enjoy the constitutional protections afforded to all religions and to Atheists and Agnostics as well. America is a country where all religions may flourish but none dominate.

You see, (name withheld), we are currently addressing over 17,000 client case complaints of coercive, command centered and unconstitutional Christian proselytizing in the armed forces and service academies. So, in effect, we are assisting those who are subject to this debilitating and extreme evangelizing to escape, as did the Pilgrims, from the oppression it engenders.

Religious supremacy and hegemony are just as unacceptable from Christian sources as from any other religion. When our beliefs become so rigid that we assume everyone else’s beliefs are false, there is a tendency to become a tad overbearing. Imagine a person with a couple of stars on his shoulders who feels it is his duty to advance and promote his Christian beliefs using his rank and position to hold our young Soldiers, Airmen, Marines, Sailors, Coast Guard, National Guard and Reserves hostage to his beliefs. This kind of coercive proselytizing has become common in our armed forces and service academies. So it is not religion we are suppressing but rather the ugly specter of command influence and hostile evangelizing that we seek to defeat. The Pilgrims would have loved us.

As to the balance of your communication, it seems that your particular brand of extreme religion is exactly what the Pilgrims were escaping. You are insulting and judgmental. But I am secure in the knowledge that my family DNA produced a 3rd Infantry Division Colonel, an 82nd Airborne Division Major, a 4th Infantry Division Artillery Major, a 32nd Infantry Division Regimental Sergeant Major and an 8th Air Force Rescue Pilot , all of whom experienced combat in either W.W. II, Korea or Vietnam.

Thanks again for your note, (name withheld). Maybe next time you could take a little time to research those against whom you would bring your prejudices. www.militaryreligiousfreedom.org

Rick Baker
Regional Coordinator
MRFF