One Nation, Under the Right God
This is why separation of church and state is so important:
Nevada National Guard Sgt. Patrick Stewart gave his life for his country when the Chinook helicopter he was in was shot down in Afghanistan in September.
But those wishing to honor Stewart, who should have his name on the memorial wall at the Northern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Fernley, would have a difficult time.
The space reserved for Stewart is vacant. Stewart was a follower of the Wiccan religion, which is not recognized by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Stewart’s widow, Roberta, said she’ll wait until her family’s religion — and its five-pointed star enclosed in a circle, with one point facing skyward — is recognized for use on memorials before Stewart’s plaque is installed.
The US government should not be in the business of picking and choosing which religions are appropriate. This country was founded on liberty and justice for all. There is nothing inherently Christian about those beliefs, and nothing in them that allows one religion to be treated as if it didn’t exist. Members of all religions and non-believers have given their lives for this country regardless of creed or belief. They all deserve the same honors. The government shouldn’t b asking family members if their religion is on the approved list — they should simply be thanking them for their loved ones’ sacrifices and making sure each soldier is honored in the way they would have wanted. In a nation that took the Constitution seriously, that is exactly what would have happened.
In this country, a widow and orphan have been told that their religion isn’t good enough for the government of the United States of America. The next time you hear someone blathering on about how this is a Christian nation, remember a soldier who gave his life for that nation and the blank spot on a memorial where his name should be, because someone somewhere decided that his religion wasn’t good enough for this country.
Thank you for reporting this story.
The issue of religious freedom doesn’t get much more clear-cut than this, does it? It sounds as though the man’s widow is handling this with great dignity and resolve. She’s a hero too.
Yep. Sounds like more hippocracy from the administration. You have freedom to do anything, as long as youu do it our way.
rMatey’s implication is that this is a Bush Admin policy. I wonder if that is true, or if this is a standing policy of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. A small detail that might be worth resolving before passing judgement.
In general (although not in this specific case), the issue of gov’t invovlement inreligion is a bit more complicated than one might think reading the above. Being a “government certified” religion means said religion is granted certain privilages – such as tax exemption – that other quasi-religions are not. One could make the case that all religions should lose their special tax status, but unless that occurs, I think it is pretty obvious that there need s to be some process by which a religion qualifies as “certified”. Again, this does not apply directly to this case, but is something to consider when looking at the broader picture.
Suppose the soldier was part of the “Christian Identity” movement and wanted their symbol on his plaque?
Stormy Dragon Says:
Suppose the soldier was part of the “Christian Identity” movement and wanted their symbol on his plaque?
Fred: Are you trying to cause trouble? You don’t expect liberals to think that far ahead and see the ramifications of their thoughts, do you?
Stormy Dragon Says:
Suppose the soldier was part of the “Christian Identity” movement and wanted their symbol on his plaque?
Fred: Are you trying to cause trouble? You don’t expect liberals to think that far ahead and see the possible ramifications of their thoughts, do you?
SD
As far as I know, CI doesn’t identify itself as a religion. And isn’t one of CI’s tennants the overthrow of the government? But in the general case, then yeah, you have to allow it as long as the symbol doesn’t fall into one of the few areas where the government has the power to regulate 1st amendment rights.
Oh wait, sorry, I was thinking of the “World Church of the Creator” not “Christian Identity”.
Wrong bag of nuts. ;>
Circumstances alter cases. For the purpose involved here, identifying the faith of a dead soldier, there should be no need for a test or standard of any kind.
Why should that simple accommodation of the deceased’s wishes and/or his loved ones’ wishes affect other aspects of government’s interaction with religions? It makes no sense.
I, too, doubt this is deliberate Bush administration mischief. Rather, I suspect it’s the reticence of a badly constipated bureaucrat.
S.W. – ” I suspect it’s the reticence of a badly constipated bureaucrat.”
Fred: Careful S.W. You are in danger of losing your liberal credentials. Good liberals know that George Bush makes these decisions. Every minor detail of the executive branch is known by Bush and every decision is made by him personally. You don’t expect us to think that something of this magnitude was not known by him.
Yap, she does have a problem. See…
http://www.cem.va.gov/hmemb.htm
There is an “approved” list of emblems, or at least a list.
How sad.
Of course, if anyone fought to have the Wiccan religious emblem added to the list you can bet the Religious Right (foaming at the mouth) would mount a national campaign to keep out “Satan worshipers” (which Wiccans are NOT).