MRFF In Box
MRFF's Inbox

April 26, 2009

Dear Mr. Weinstein,

The late, great H. L. Mencken is quoted as saying "Religion is escape from reality". He softens the statement by adding that reality is terrifying to the average man and woman.

The history of religion, from the first shaman, who discovered he could control the minds of the tribe members by preying on their ignorance and superstition, is gross with atrocities committed in the name of religion. To me, fundamentalist religion borders on insanity.

In my humble opinion, the forcing of fundamentalist Christianity on U.S. troops is a subversive assault on their constitutional right of freedom of and from religion.

The slogan "Jesus killed Mohammed" used by religion-ignorant and/or religion-intolerant military men is an insult to Jesus, the "Prince of Peace".

Recent laws passed in some states, making it a crime to speak out against religion is an assault on the most important amendments to the constitution, freedom of speech and freedom of the press. Hopefully someone will have the intestinal fortitude to challenge these laws which are patently unconstitutional.

We are in agreement that military officers and non-coms pushing this fundamentalist religion on the troops is a gross violation of their oath to uphold the constitution. They are subversives, and should be court-martialed - generals on down!

I appreciate your love of freedom and your intellect to recognize this unconstitutional assault on freedom, and your testicular fortitude to challenge it in a court of law.

Keep fighting this cancer of the intellect.

You might find it interesting to know that I am an [age withheld] WWII veteran, infantry and then combat engineer, ETO. Fortunately, never in combat, never had to kill anyone.

I was born [date withheld] in Montreal, Canada to an Irish-Catholic Canadian-born mother and a first generation American-born father of a Swedish Jewish-family named Jacobson. My father took the name [surname withheld] from his step-father, another Swede because anti-Semitism was strong in the New Jersey area where he lived in the early twenties. My father became a Lutheran and never practiced Judaism, nor have I. I am a secular humanist, but proud of my Jewish lineage.

Respectfully yours,

[name withheld]

PS: I read about you and your work in Harper's magazine


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