What does it mean to you?
I know what it means to me.
Politicians can disagree over
specifics, but one thing cannot be ignored, the service and sacrifice of the
heroes in our Armed Forces, risking everything on behalf of our country.
Peace is certainly of the highest importance, but without justice, peace is a cop-out, if I may put it that way. The ideal that we are our brother's keeper is as old as America -- older, in fact. No one wants to go back to the days of religious totalitarianism. But on the other hand, our nation is deeply rooted in values of faith and the Bible, going back to Old Europe.
It is totally fitting and proper to honor the fallen heroes with all the solemnities and honors they have traditionally received. But the Veterans Administration last month banned ALL references to God in military funerals and memorial services. The reaction was immediate. From liberals like Jimmy Carter, to conservatives like Jay Sekulow, the VA was confronted with an avalanche of dissent. In coming days, it amended its earlier directive SLIGHTLY, explaining that the family of the fallen hero could specify a request to include a faith dimension.
Attorney Sekulow says it still is not enough. “If you served in the military or if you are an American citizen you should be outraged,” ACLJ Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow told listeners on his radio show.
The VA directive (September 27th) prohibited honor guards from using references to the "God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob" and to the "Father, Son and Holy Ghost."
What is so subversive about a flag-folding recitation with religious references as part of military funerals?
In no way do I oppose our precious freedoms, or the First Amendment, or freedom of conscience for everyone, whether traditional, or secularist, whether atheist or even Fundamentalist.
But there is always a role for honoring our heroes. There is always a role for prayer, and for reverence. Don't we need a touch of the so-called "tribal" or mystic? In our "hard" modernist world, I think we all still have a little of the "soft" values of religion or believes down deep. We still need those simple "myths" or rituals, just to ground us within the Circle of Life. That's my opinion, anyway.
Anyone who says that these basic freedoms should be stopped or denied to a fallen soldier is spitting on the very thing that is assured to us by the blood he or she has spilled and our Constitution. I myself am a recipient of services from the VA, and it truly irritates me that they would do or say something like this is beyond my imagination. It is my fervent hope that this position will be reversed soon or I will be denied the funeral with honors that I feel have been earned through 12 years of service to my country.
God bless America.
Peace is certainly of the highest importance, but without justice, peace is a cop-out, if I may put it that way. The ideal that we are our brother's keeper is as old as America -- older, in fact. No one wants to go back to the days of religious totalitarianism. But on the other hand, our nation is deeply rooted in values of faith and the Bible, going back to Old Europe.
It is totally fitting and proper to honor the fallen heroes with all the solemnities and honors they have traditionally received. But the Veterans Administration last month banned ALL references to God in military funerals and memorial services. The reaction was immediate. From liberals like Jimmy Carter, to conservatives like Jay Sekulow, the VA was confronted with an avalanche of dissent. In coming days, it amended its earlier directive SLIGHTLY, explaining that the family of the fallen hero could specify a request to include a faith dimension.
Attorney Sekulow says it still is not enough. “If you served in the military or if you are an American citizen you should be outraged,” ACLJ Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow told listeners on his radio show.
The VA directive (September 27th) prohibited honor guards from using references to the "God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob" and to the "Father, Son and Holy Ghost."
What is so subversive about a flag-folding recitation with religious references as part of military funerals?
In no way do I oppose our precious freedoms, or the First Amendment, or freedom of conscience for everyone, whether traditional, or secularist, whether atheist or even Fundamentalist.
But there is always a role for honoring our heroes. There is always a role for prayer, and for reverence. Don't we need a touch of the so-called "tribal" or mystic? In our "hard" modernist world, I think we all still have a little of the "soft" values of religion or believes down deep. We still need those simple "myths" or rituals, just to ground us within the Circle of Life. That's my opinion, anyway.
Anyone who says that these basic freedoms should be stopped or denied to a fallen soldier is spitting on the very thing that is assured to us by the blood he or she has spilled and our Constitution. I myself am a recipient of services from the VA, and it truly irritates me that they would do or say something like this is beyond my imagination. It is my fervent hope that this position will be reversed soon or I will be denied the funeral with honors that I feel have been earned through 12 years of service to my country.
God bless America.
Thank you and good night. Peace
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