Shaw AFB Christmas Display

Dear MRFF,

If you don’t like something, you try to prevent others who like it from enjoying it. Why not ask if you can put up an alternate display? Why can’t you be more libertarian about it and just let others enjoy their freedoms? Why do you have to curb their pursuit of happiness? The right scares me a lot less than the leftists in organizations like yours. You have no limits; the ends justify the means and your ethics are situational. I am not a religious person by any stretch of the imagination, but I don’t go around stomping on the rights of others like you do. I am tolerant. I believe in keeping the government out of my doctor’s office, my bedroom, and my wallet. Christmas is a fun time of the year for me. I don’t understand the whole Kwanza thing, but I don’t oppose allowing those who want to put up public displays to do so. The same goes for Hanukah and whatever the Wiccans, Buddhists, or anybody else does. I find a lot of wonder in the culture and practices of others, but I find you and your organization to be a not too distant cousin of totalitarianism. You are every bit as bad as the imaginary extremists the you proffer to oppose. You are just as closed minded as those you portray to be your oppressors. You are hypocrites.

(name withheld)

Dear (name withheld),

You misunderstand. We don’t dislike religious displays, nor do we want to prevent others who do like them from enjoying them. In this instance, no one is preventing anyone from enjoying anything. (And,by the way, abiding by the Constitution is not a left or right issue.) This is about the freedom of religion and belief, and the law mandates a separation of church and state. (I’m sure both the right and the left support the Constitution.)

“Stomping on the rights of others,” if that’s your concern, would include having the government endorse one religion over another. It does not and cannot. Despite the fact that our nation’s laws have clearly stated that the government will not endorse one religion over another, some in government tend to forget that and have to be reminded when they slip into forgetfulness. Sometimes, however, it isn’t forgetfulness as much as it is willfulness, with some people insisting their beliefs on everyone in the military. That’s why we in the MRFF, the members and supporters of which are over 90% Christian, insist that the military, which is part of the government, honor the law and the constitution and remain neutral in terms of religious belief by endorsing none and honoring the right to belief or non-belief of all.

You are quite correct in supporting displays of faiths you don’t understand. We do the same. The only area in which we apparently differ is that those displays should be set up under appropriate circumstances and in appropriate places. It’s just that they cannot be established or sanctioned by the military or any other arm of our government. That’s what it means to honor the freedom of religion and belief.

As to your accusations about our organization, they are as mistaken as is your understanding of this situation.

Mike Farrell
Member, MRFF Board of Advisors