MRFF’s INBOX – My thoughts on the sign (from a Marine at MCB Hawaii)

To Whom it Should Concern,

I live on Marine Corps Base Hawaii (MCBH), I am a United States War Veteran, and I am one of the people that contacted the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) about the “God Bless Our Troops” sign, which is situated here on base. When I first arrived at the base I noticed just how beautiful and serene it was. I was also overjoyed to meet some of the finest, caring and giving individuals one could ever hope to come into contact with. I signed my boy up for soccer and now coach his football team. I did, however, notice a problem pretty quickly when I arrived to MCBH. A giant sign erected on the base seemed to me to be entirely unconstitutional. I passed this sign everyday. It was unavoidable. One has to go by it every time they go to the athletic field or the health clinic. It stated, in no uncertain terms, that this base, which is supposed to be entirely neutral in regards to religion, did in fact hold one deity above all others.  This to me was unacceptable and I contacted the MRFF in August to investigate whether or not this sign stood in violation of the Constitution of the United States. Fortunately, I received a reply, and that reply, in very plain words, explained that it did.

When I joined the United States Navy I took an oath to uphold the Constitution, an oath I took very seriously. This majestic product of the Enlightenment was, and still very much is, an important part of my life. When I was honorably discharged, I did not denounce my oath, which is what makes this situation so much more heart wrenching for me. To see the most important part of this manuscript being tossed aside, by a Marine Colonel no less, is tremendously discouraging. All of my brothers and sisters in the armed services must remember that it is their duty to put their personal theological and political beliefs aside when they join the service. These men and women are neutral parties when fulfilling their official duties and should never be caught breaking any of the fundamental rights that the Constitution has put forward. Unfortunately, we see Col. Killeen doing just that.

The Colonel’s defense of the sign is a disingenuous one. He states: “God Bless” is commonly used in our culture in a number of contexts and there are numerous references to God in this nations symbols, songs, mottos, and oaths.” He goes on to mention that the sign has a “secular purpose.” Either this defense is simply a wink and nod to all Col. Killeen’s Christian Marines, or he truly believes that the expressions “God Bless,” “In God We Trust,” “Under God,” and “So Help Me God,” have no religious meaning whatsoever.

One needs to understand that in order for this defense to work any comment of religion in government must be entirely secular in nature. The Colonel must be willing to admit to himself and all of his Christian, Jewish, and Muslim troops, that these maxims have absolutely no ground in theological belief. They have been used so often that we as a nation have deemed them entirely secular, they are, for all intents and purposes, meaningless. If I were a Christian, for example, this would enrage me to no end and I cannot comprehend why we do not see more adherents to monotheism standing up to the secularization of their religions.

 On the other hand, and this is what is most frightening, the Colonel might not actually mean that the saying has been secularized at all. He might actually be trying to promote a single religious belief above all others and is simply camouflaging the words “God Bless” under the cloak of secularism. This would mean he and his comrades don’t really believe, not for one instant, that this maxim means absolutely nothing to them. If this is the case then the Colonel has forfeited his right to protect the United States Constitution.

It is unfortunate, but it would appear that the Colonel has brought his own biases and beliefs into the arena of Constitutional debate and, again unfortunately, taken the side of his theological conviction as opposed to his Constitutional duty. There is no room in the military for people that have put God before the oath they took when they joined these armed services. As citizens of this republic it is our duty to resist anyone who would seek to undermine the Constitution in order to advance his or her own agenda, whatever that might be. I will end this post with a simple, but very important question for the Colonel, what is more important your duty to God, or, your duty to country? If you find yourself answering in the affirmative to the first question, then, I am afraid, you have lost sight of what this country is about and the freedoms you swore to defend. If on the other hand you answer in the affirmative the second question, I will be the first one out there helping you move the sign to the Chapel grounds.  

(MRFF Client’s name and the identifiers all withheld)