Thanks From A USAF Airman

Published On: January 22, 2013|Categories: MRFF's Inbox|0 Comments|

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Dear MRFF and Mr. Weinstein,

I am an Airman (rank withheld) in the United States Air Force, stationed at (USAF military base name’s withheld). I was recently assigned to a new work center. When I first walked into the office, I saw a large “God Bless America” sign hung on the wall. The sign also had an American flag in the lower right-hand corner and in the middle, a large ribbon depicting the American flag.

A little background on me. I was raised Catholic, but settled on the position of being an Agnostic for about 12 years, only to decide I was an Atheist several years ago. I completely respect other’s Constitutional right to Freedom of Religion; however, I am also a staunch believer that the key to religious freedom is the separation of church and state. I felt that this sign sent the message that the USAF endorsed a specific religion.

I was faced with a dilemma. I knew that taking down the sign was the right thing to do, but at the same time, I wanted to maintain a healthy working relationship with my military and civilian counterparts. I was looking for an ideal solution.

I first called the base Military Equal Opportunity office. I was not happy with their answer. They said the sign could remain unless someone came forth and claimed they were offended. I felt this was a complete cop-out and wrong. After all, if I had something sexually explicit on my desk, in plain view of internal and external customers, is it OK to assume everyone is fine with it until someone complains? In light of recent events in the USAF regarding sexual harassment, I knew this was not the right mentality to adopt. I decided to look further into the matter.

Upon conducting internet research, I came across the MRFF website. After browsing the site, I decided to contact Mr. Weinstein and ask him for advice. He immediately returned my email and asked me to call him. When I spoke with him, he heard me out, completely respecting my desire to resolve the issue with as little conflict as possible. He reassured me that I was doing the right thing, and gave me advice on how to verbalize my concerns with my USAF co-workers in order to explain without offending.

The following Monday morning, I grabbed the sign off the wall. I asked the members in the office if they knew who it belonged to. I was told it belonged to the office. I explained that it could not be on the wall since it sent the message that the USAF endorsed a specific religion. I also explained how it is very Judeo-Christian specific since Muslims refer to God as Allah, other religions may not have the concept of a God, and that we have non-believers (didn’t mention names) in the unit. I was prepared to go further, but they began to discuss the issue among themselves and within minutes, came to the conclusion that I was right. They even went so far as to dig out an award they’d received and hung it on the wall in place of the God Bless America sign.

Thanks Mikey and MRFF for the advice and reassurance. I truly do not know where else I could have reached out to receive such a quick response of specific assistance that was right on point (without compromising my identity and facing the serious prospect of retaliation).

(USAF member’s name, rank, AFSC, military installation, unit and command all withheld)

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