Questions for Mikey

As a retired Marine (1968,) I’ve a question of you. Can you state categorically that during any of your Academy stint and/or your service in the Air Force you never once questioned or asked God for any ‘relief’ or help in any manner? Can you recall ever asking Him why you were doing what you were? I continually asked Him those very same questions. Just curious. To Hell with America’s haters!

Thank you,
(name withheld)

Dear (name withheld),

I’ve been asked to respond to your email, though I am not Mikey. (He’s busy, defending the religious rights of our service members and veterans and their families, with respect to the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs.)

Your email makes no sense, though. Whether Mikey is religious has nothing to do with whether our service members deserve their Constitutional rights to freedom of conscious, thought, and religion. Each must be free to choose his or her own religion or to choose no religion at all. Your military experience should inform you that chain of command is a powerful influence. Mikey is working to block that influence from acting as a religious directive.

Regarding the Air Force Academy oath, which might be what inspired you to write, Mikey demanded — and rightfully, Constitutionally so — that the words “so help me, God” be removed. This simple, logical, straight forward act would permit any who believe to swear by whichever deity he or she personally believes in. It also leaves room for nonbelievers to exercise their religious rights to believe nothing.

Understand that no one is being denied God. No one is under any restriction against saying, “So help me, God.” No one is being pressured to avoid swearing to God. No one.

As for your actual questions, Mikey probably won’t mind that I inform you that he is Jewish. He prays daily. He married a Christian — inside the Air Force Academy, right around the time of his graduation from that very establishment.

We who support Mikey’s efforts through MRFF are of various backgrounds. Our mutual respect for the differences between us, religion included, strengthen our “good order, discipline, and unit cohesion.” It is all the more necessary inside our military.

Please consider this, and consider the respect you felt for your brothers in arms. Don’t let that level of military professionalism go down the tubes in our current day, because of religion forced down the chain of command.

Thank you for your service, and thank you for emailing Mikey.

Sincerely,
A military veteran and staunch supporter of MRFF