Thank You

Mikey and all the MRFF staff,

I just wanted to say thank you for standing beside my wife and me through one of the more frustrating and tumultuous weeks we’ve had in her military career. We strongly believe that our children are too young to understand religion and so we have limited their exposure to it as much as possible, at least until we feel that they are ready.
However, our local DoDDS school decided that it was okay to teach students explicitly religious songs and themes as part of the school’s holiday programs. They decided that having students participate in a nativity reenactment had nothing to do with religion, but was merely a “cultural” lesson. We disagreed with this view, feeling that it violated the Establishment Clause of the Constitution. When we brought this point to the school’s attention, the best answer they could come up with was to segregate our oldest son from his peers by taking him out of the event altogether. This not only created a religious test, in that only students of religious parents could participate in this school event, it also made our son feel like he was being punished because he wasn’t allowed to practice with his friends and classmates. This forced us to decide between allowing the school to punish him for our family’s beliefs or having him participate in religious observances.

Thanks to your support, we had the confidence to stand up for ourselves and deal with the situation head on. Even when we faced opposition from the school you supported us and kept us from faltering in our efforts. We were especially relieved when the school’s attitude changed after you stepped in and spoke to them personally. Thank you for all you have done for us and for all service members of every religious background. Your organization is a necessity for those of us cast aside by ignorance and intolerance. One which we all hope we will never need to rely upon.

Sincerely,
(names withheld)