Veterans For Peace chapter president on “Valuing the Military Religious Freedom Foundation” writes: “MRFF serves as a beacon of enlightenment of religious freedom”

Published On: August 21, 2024|Categories: MRFF's Inbox, Top News|2 Comments|
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From: James Swarts
Subject: Valuing the Military Religious Freedom Foundation 
Date: August 20, 2024 at 8:06:18 PM MDT
To: Mikey Weinstein <[email protected]>

Dear Mr. Weinstein,

As a point of introduction, I should note that it has been several years now since I met you, Mr. Weinstein, when you spoke at Rochester Institute of Technology here in Rochester, in what I thought was a wonderful presentation and a real eye opener.  Your message resonates with me more today than it even did at that time.  Your presentation made me realize the value of the MRFF, and the work of your organization.  I look forward to hearing from you, and the work of MRFF.

With that said, I would like to mention that I served six years in the U.S. Navy, during which time I served at sea including in the illegal invasion of the Dominican Republic in 1965, and three years with the NROTC Unit at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy New York.  That service made me aware of the religious and racial intolerance that I found embedded in military culture. Subsequent to my Naval service I earned both Bachelor and Master’s Degrees in History which helped to open my eyes to the meaning of the United States Constitution and the importance of the separation of church and state.  It also gave me pause to reflect on the military’s coercion of forcing personal to participate in religious activities.  After a lengthy career as a federal officer I returned to seminary and earned my Master of Divinity Degree (MDiv) while pursuing ordained ministry.  Then I was invited to teach history at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Geneseo, the state honors college.  I devoted fourteen of the following sixteen years in that position.

It was early in my teaching career that I attended the aforementioned presentation by Mr. Weinstein at R.I.T., which had a profound influence on me and helped bring together the many pieces of my military, civil service, history education, and theological education to zero in on the evil I had recognized, and experienced, personally and historically.  It helped me to incorporate my strong belief in religious tolerance, and emphasize the need to keep religion out of our government and out of our military in many of my courses.  MRFF serves as a beacon of enlightenment of religious freedom by protecting those in the military, and veterans, from coerced religious indoctrination.   

Peace,

Rev. James L. Swarts, M.A., M.Div.
President, Veterans For Peace, Chapter 23, Rochester, NY
2021 VFP Chapter of the Year

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2 Comments

  1. Synergy August 22, 2024 at 9:05 am

    Nice ring to it, “Veterans for Peace!” Amen!

    The take away being “the importance of separation between church and state.”

    Vitally important. Can’t imagine being a young soldier today being hounded with, “hey, the Commander’s having a prayer meeting at his house tonight. Wanna go?”

    As a career Army civilian, I would sit back down during Commanding General town halls where they asked for all to remain standing for the invocation, my quiet protest for their “In Jesus’ name we pray” closing. I know it pissed them off when I’d pull out my cell phone while they were “invoking” the power of God on behalf of the Commander, as if he needed the Creator of the Universe’s help in conducting the Town Hall, but it was my quiet way of saying, “fuck you!”

    I did this in front of a four star at one town hall, making direct eye contact, as I sit back down, the challenge unspoken but very clear, “I don’t believe in your magical thinking,” daring a comment that never came.
    In fairness, my career never went further than mid level manager, lol, but rather my career ending with my integrity and character in tact than the subservient chains of bondage being prescribed by senior Commanders.

    I’ve hired MANY federal employees and promoted MANY over the years. It’s a fair and impartial process – and if you believe that, I’ve got some land for sale for you! Yes, the staffing for a particular position has checks on the “system” in place; however, as the hiring official, there are ways around it to select who you want to have the position, even though an “impartial” panel of raters have been convened.

    In the military, it’s even easier to “rig the system,” and the bias of a Christian Nationalist Commander has a severe negative impact on combat readiness, unit cohesion effected, the glue determining mission outcomes.

    The Right’s plan to Christianize our military will lead to failure, much like the plan to Christianize our Nation!

    “We’re NOT going back!”

    The time has come to throw off the shackles of religious bondage being prescribed by those on the right.

    No better organization to do that on behalf of our venerated military members than Mikey Weinstein and the Military Religious Freedom Foundation!

    Support the MRFF!

    Freedom is a choice! Fight for it!

  2. Synergy August 23, 2024 at 8:43 am

    Freedom is a very good word!

    What does it mean to be free?

    Free from the tyranny of forced Christian mandate in our military.

    Freedom to “Be All You Can Be” in our military, without the oppression and prescribed fealty to any leader. Loyalty is one thing, RESPECT is earned, not mandated!

    Freedom from autocracy.

    Freedom to choose your own healthcare and have it available when you need it.

    Freedom to be who and all you can be.

    Freedom of opportunity, a leveled playing field.

    Free of food insecurity.

    Freedom from persecution by those that monitor your ideologies, those that would destroy your dreams, your aspirations, your future!

    Freedom is a choice!

    You can choose freedom in this next election or you can imprison yourself in the limited, myopic, dystopia of a Trump pig farm, docility and subservience your only option, fealty your master of survival as they sharpen their knives, readying the slaughter.

    The Party of Stupid, and their Christian Nationalist Commanders, will run our military – into the ground!

    “I like people that didn’t get captured! They’re suckers and losers! I’m not going to honor dead military members, it’s raining, I’ll get my hair wet!”

    Five times draft dodger, his bone spurs miraculously cured by shoving a pre-Covid era light up his diaper covered ass!

    Not getting venereal disease his “own personal Vietnam,” 58,000 American military lives lost, denigrated and conflated with Trump grabbing someone by the pussy at Club 54!

    Trump is not just a cretin, a miscreant, a doddering old convict, he’s America’s SS – Shit Stain! Trump is a shit stained pig grower, his wallowers fecal covered bastions of idiocracy.

    The water receding from Trump beach, his followers wading further into the ocean for their MAGA baptism. It’s not low tide, it’s a portent, a warning, a Blue Tsunami is on the way! Get out and move to higher ground!

    A Big Blue Wave is coming!

    Freedom is a choice! You can choose to be a MAGAT, a Trump-farmed piglet, ……. or not!

    The ring of freedom is a sweet note indeed! Like that sounded by the Constitution-supporting Military Religious FREEDOM Foundation!

    Words matter, and freedom is a very sweet word indeed!

    Support the MRFF!

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