Wreaths and Freedom

From: (name withheld)
Subject: Wreaths and Freedom
Date: December 14, 2021 at 12:56:09 PM MST
To: [email protected]

“Mikey”,

As a serviceman, I greatly appreciate when anyone takes the time to say “thanks”, in any way. No matter what their background, religion, or personal beliefs. Whether they just take the time to say, thank you, or an organization spends their own money to give a token of thanks or memorial to our dead.

I have served for 24 years. I come from a family that has many men who have served, WW2, Vietnam, Gulf War, and Iraq and Afghanistan. Our wives and children have paid for that service as well. In my family we may not all agree on religion. But, we all agree that those who served and laid their lives on the ground for the people of this Nation, men like you, and should be shown some respect. What does it matter to you if someone else pays some gratitude in their own way?  What possible offense could there be for someone to pay their respects with a wreath?  

You, Michael, you personally are responsible for sowing hate, discord, and division because you personally take offense to something that is really none of your business. You should be ashamed of your actions, your words, and your “foundation”.

Sincerely,
(name withheld)
US Army

Response from MRFF Advisory Board Member Mike Farrell

On Dec 15, 2021, at 12:23 AM, Mike wrote:
Major (name withheld),
Your service is appreciated and you’re welcome to your opinion. But you’re dead wrong about Mikey, his work, his purpose and the organization he founded.

No one here would disagree about how deserving of thanks those who have served our country are. But you have missed a couple of serious points and in so doing have arrogated to yourself the right to judge us. That is not appreciated.

A Christmas wreath is a symbol of Christmas and carries with it the inference of honoring Jesus Christ. Veterans lying in a government cemetery are not of one faith, they are, like our troops across the world, people of many different belief systems.
You suggest people might choose to say thanks “in any way” and it will be understood and appreciated. By that, you are suggesting that everyone will understand the offer of a Christmas wreath as a simple ‘thanks’ and take it to heart. But because some families might not appreciate a Jewish symbol or a sign of the Islamic faith, or for that matter a swastika laid on their loved one’s grave, one who seriously wants to offer thanks has to be careful to be respectful.
If the organization laying the wreaths took the trouble to research the population of the cemetery and determine who was not a Christian, it would be far more respectful of that person and his or her family’s belief to opt not to place a Christmas wreath there and leave a simple thank-you note instead.
Too much trouble, you say? Then find something that does not have the resonance of a particular faith or belief system. But to instead simply plaster the population of the cemetery with Christmas wreaths and expect everyone to appreciate it suggests that this wreath and its resonance is so universally powerful and important that it speaks to and for everyone. That may well be the case for you, Major, but it suggests that those of other belief systems don’t matter and leaves them to feel rejected and disrespected.
Sincerely,
Mike Farrell (MRFF Board of Advisors)