“Can’t stop me”

“Mr. Weinstein

I have been following you and your organization lately. I want to inform you that I proudly wear my uniform and have sworn to up hold the Constitution of The United States. I am a Christian and wear a St. Michael around my neck and will continue to do so. I will speak my mind no what the subject including religion when and where I like. I recently learned that you were responsible for a painting, titled Blessed are the Peace Keepers, to be taken down at the Mountain Home AFB. I will be obtaining a print of that painting and will proudly display it in my office. There is no one in this country who can force me take it down. Not you, the government or the courts. Looking at you web site I believe that you and your organization are nothing more than terrorists who are trying to undermine everything this country stands for. You have the right to your opinion but when you force your beliefs on others by taking the actions that you have taken you should be charged and arrested for violating peoples civil rights.”

(name withheld)

Dear (name withheld),

I am the Director of Veterans Affairs for the Military Religious Freedom Foundation and Mr. Weinstein asked me to take a minute to respond to your e-mail

You state that you have sworn to uphold the U.S. Constitution; however, you make it clear that you are perfectly at ease violating the Constitution, military regulations and possibly even a direct order from a superior officer. Now I could not care less about the St. Michael medal you wear around your neck, you can wear a medal decorated with an electric chair for all I care; what you wear while on duty is strictly speaking the purview of your Commanding Officer in accordance with Military Regulations. Regarding one’s personal faith or no-faith: it is every service-member’s right to believe or not believe how they will; however, the public expressions of that faith or no-faith, including proselytizing, must comply with the U.S. Constitution, Military Regulations and the orders of your superior officers. In the U.S. Military one has the right to practice one’s religion as they see fit, so long as it does not impinge on the rights of others and does not violate either the U.S. Constitution, Military Regulations or command orders. It is a direct violation of the U.S. Constitution and Military Regulations for a service-member (any service-member, regardless of rank or rating, including chaplains) to engage in predatory proselyting, including forcing other service-members to engage in specific religious activities, to attend religion-specific prayers and even to view offensive religious imagery against their will.

Now you sound like a person well-versed in ignorance; however, I hope even you can comprehend this: if you choose to post a copy of the offensive image referenced in your e-mail within your own office or personal space it is well within the purview of your Commanding Officer to order it removed, just as it is within a Commanding Officer’s purview to order pornographic images removed from personal and office spaces, along with public spaces. If you refuse to follow a direct order you may, of course, face an Article 15 disciplinary hearing or even a Court Martial. You may indeed be a fool, but for your sake I hope you won’t be that foolish; on the other hand, today’s military certainly could use fewer intellectually challenged individuals.

Regarding your comment that Mr. Weinstein and the Military Religious Freedom Foundation resemble terrorists, well….I apologize for your poor education, or were you home schooled? This, along with the ridiculous assertion that it is us (and not imbeciles like you) who are forcing our religious beliefs on others, this more than anything else you stated indicates your intellectual vacuity. You see, the image you seem to cherish so much featured an image of a Crusader – one of the original terrorist. The Crusades featured radicalized Christian knights who engaged in genocide against whole towns and whole peoples. The Crusaders engaged in the wholesale slaughter of Jews and Muslims and didn’t even mind slaughtering their fellow Christians when it was convenient. It is you, and idiots just like you, who are the terrorists – you live to impose and inflict your bigoted, radicalized religion on others, and you don’t even mind using force when convenient, you seek to marginalize, harass and even bully those who believe differently, you practice wholesale discrimination and when you’re held in check you insist you’re the ones facing discrimination. Of course in your case it may be that you’re just plain too stupid to comprehend the ridiculousness of your claims. You remind me of the old saw about the guy who crapped his pants during the Sunday morning church service and while standing in line at the potluck afterward complained aloud that the sermon stunk.

So, in conclusion: please, go ahead with your stated plans to violate Military Regulations; here at the Foundation we’ll celebrate the day you get to stand before your C.O. or a Military Court to answer for your stubborn determination to foist your religion on others in the face of direct orders and for your outright stupidity.

Most Sincerely,

Akiva David Miller