Dear Military Religious Freedom Foundation:
Just wanted to tell you how much I admire what your organization is doing. I wish it had existed (or if it did, that I had known about it) during my years as an Air Force officer (1995-99). In what should have been some of the best years of my life, I was routinely shunned and made to feel a pariah for no other reason than that I did not consider the bible to be a true story. I never tried to push my atheist beliefs on others, never really cared what others thought. But because I answered honestly when someone directly asked me if I believed in evolution, I was made an outcast in a very closed community.
The miltary in the 90′s (and I would guess still today), in particular the Air Force, had become a large scale christian cult. Every meeting would begin with a christian prayer. Every event that would happen was some sort of sign from jesus, and it was up to us to interpret it somehow. I remember my general, a two star, discussing the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy to the wing by holding up a bible and stating “THIS is my policy”, to a rousing ovation.
Most of all I was concerned about the conception of islam as an “evil” religion, and the idea that the US was a christian nation in a holy war with Islam over the people of the middle east. I have no doubts whatsoever the influence this played on President Bush’s decision to go to war with Iraq 7 years ago.
Anyways, I just wanted you to know how much I admire what you are doing. Eventually, common sense and reason always wins out.
Sincerely,
(name withheld)
Lieutenant USAF 1995-1999
