Long-time MRFF supporter Rabbi Joel Schwartzman deftly responds to “An old Soldier who does not support you” regarding “Four Chaplains Day”

Altruism is practiced by the religious as well as secular people, the orthodox and the atheists.

At this time we need to band together with respect for each other..

Synergy, with all due respect, I believe you’ve missed Susan Raku’s point. What I read in her response is that all of us deserve respect and that we should support one another, regardless of our religions or lack thereof.

And I agree wholeheartedly. Religion should not divide us who have served or are serving our country: we should support one another, regardless. It is what makes us effective, able to face the uncertainties of war — knowing that the people at our backs have our backs.

I respectfully ask that you ask Susan if I have accurately reflected what she meant. And if I have, please be so kind as to offer her an apology. If it turns out that I was wrong about her statement, please accept my apology as graciously as I present it.

JP, thanks for your words, always welcome. We’re going to have to agree to disagree, or not.

I do not respect MAGA, never will. I get the unspoken part, words I like to use, “you may not like the people you work with – but you have to work with them.”

Been a career federal manager for many years with the responsibility for career development, progression, training, and growth of many employees, deployed worldwide, in and out of combat zones, been there myself. I have a tiny bit of experience in this area. I delight in the success of those I had the responsibility to grow, regardless of race, creed, ethnicity, gender, religion, political views, et al. Their success, personally and professionally, was my success. I have promoted those I least respected, on a personal level, because I chose a panel of raters that were diverse, from different backgrounds, to do the scoring and interviews. My selection panels looked a lot different than many others. I went outside my organization for panel members. I didn’t have to do that, could have chosen the rating panel biased toward a certain candidate that I personally might have preferred, but it’s not the way I work. If a candidate that I personally may have preferred didn’t make the cut, then it was on me to do the introspection to raise the bar in terms of my own performance as a “grower” of the work force.

My responsibility was to grow the workforce. You do that by example. I consider myself a Servant Leader, debatable level of success, but the highest compliment to me as a manager is that someone that worked for me became my boss (happened a few times), much the same way I’ve have raised my own children. And they’ve turned out well, the American dream realized, much like the folks I was responsible for as a manager.

My experience, in the work setting, has been that even those with extreme political views come around in the end when they see their own success within the framework of inclusion, teamwork, and guided self reliance. Those few that didn’t get it, unfortunately, isolated themselves. There were a few, unfortunately, their own misery self-inflicted.

The MAGA phenomenon, writ large, is a movement fueled by hatred at the highest levels, to their own detriment and the rest of the country.

When Ms Susan says, “we need to band together with respect for each other,” I read it as “inclusionary,” MAGA and the literate alike. God only knows, “inclusion” has been mandated wiped from the lexicon in MAGA circles, the book of Gilead 2:13-15.

MAGA is contemptible. As I stated, “MS-13 is not the band (a play on Ms Susan’s words), I’ll be playing in” (former drummer – still play occasionally – march to my own beat, 5/4 time signature!). :-)

No apologies – all the best!

Synergy at 4:52pm has co-opted another’s name. Too lazy to think of something original, they embody everything wrong with the here/now.

Could even be a bot except someone had to program it. Someone had to get the idea to set loose upon the world their own self doubt and jealousy all wrapped up in the wit of ‘I know what you are, but what am I?’

Try harder troll. You can do it.

This was an interesting read for me. As a past service member and a current theist (wasn’t back then) I saw some of the comments I see in some chat circles regarding theist and atheist mindsets.

I both understand why the 4 Chaplain day wouldn’t be a focus for this group while wondering if honoring those 4 men was thought of as endorsing their religious stances. So you know, it would not be an endorsement and merely honoring their actions on that day, as the actions of so many others are honored on other dates.

I chuckled when I read the “magical thinking” comment since what we essentially have are 2 opposing beliefs.

As far as MAGA goes I find them a bit contrary since there’s nothing inherent to that group that connects with the teachings attributed to Jesus. I say without hesitation that not one Christian vote was cast for Trump.
Anyways I look forward to reading the rest of the articles here at MRFF.

Christianity, particularly today’s flavor, is nothing but a cult. A morphed cult, given to the world by Roman emperor Constantine, not out of deference to a belief in a messiah, but rather, out of political necessity in controlling a disjointed and crumbling empire, unity brought into focus in a State-sponsored religion, the cannon scripted to control the masses, much like today by those on the Right in the Christian Nationalist camp.

They couldn’t give two shits less about the fictional narrative of the Harry Potteresque story line – but they do care about power and control!

Up the rebels! Eat the Rich!

You’re about to get a good dose of their medicinal misery in the Republican budget proposed next month – $4.5 Trillion dollars added to the National Debt – making Trump’s round one tax cuts for the wealthy permanent!

You know what’s NOT in the budget proposal? Trump’s promised no tax on tips, overtime, or Social Security benefits.

You know what else is not there? Bringing the promised cost of groceries down, rents, mortgages, gas, inflation, et al.

The Republican party of “no new taxes” is now the party of taxation, getting ready to rob you again. Lowering corporate rates from 21% to 15% because Jeff Bezos, Zuckerberg, Elon, and others, don’t have enough money! Tariffs on other countries – trading partners – a tax on the American people.

Tell them to pound sand! Increase corporate taxes, universal health care, family paid leave, lift the payroll cap on Social Security, a payroll tax on ALL Americans, to include the rich! Bezos, for example, pays ZERO social security taxes. Just like you paying for schools, even if you don’t have children in school, let them pay for social security – because we’re Americans!

Tell them to fuck off – we’re tired of them living off our misery!

Buy yourself a pitchfork! And use it!