Today's Worldnutdaily has a story about a Navy vet who wants to have a Wiccan symbol on his tombstone when he dies but the military won't approve his request. Since 1997, the VA has been paying for inscriptions on the headstones of vets and they have approved religious symbols for a wide range of religious faiths. And the Pentagon has recognized Wicca as an official religion for nearly a decade now. But they are not approving the Wiccan symbol of a circle and pentagram for inscription on headstones, despite having had many requests to do so since 1996. The ACLU is helping a Navy vet fight this in court.
The Worldnutdaily is taking a poll of its readers to see how they feel about it and the results are hardly surprising. There were 3 selections that were in favor of allowing this inscription on headstones, with the statements reading "Yes, the First Amendment protects freedom of religion", "Yes, government has no business observing some religious symbols and not others", and "Yes, of course - military service entitles everyone to equal treatment." Those three got a combined total of just under 25%. Meanwhile, 29% said "No, Wicca is a demonic religion" and 22% said "No, a pagan symbol would be offensive to a great majority of the deceased and their families." And 16% just said "No", without a reason. Which gives you a snapshot of the mentality among WND readers....again.
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"Yes, of course - military service entitles everyone to equal treatment." "
Service guarantees citizenship!
How about, instead of the Wicca symbol, an inscription that says:
Died to protect YOUR religious freedom, but can't be buried under a symbol of his own
Religious hypocrites.
What's the point in having 3 yes answers when all 3 are giving essentially the same reason.
It's interesting that there apparently is a symbol that atheist veterans can have inscribed on their grave marker. It also appears that the government has what is essentially a list of recognized religions. By definition this puts the government in the position of establishing a religion.
I notice that there are actually five choices that are labelled "YES" and four "NO" with one none specified other. The qualifiers seem to allow for choices that would align with individuals' sensitivities and overt political agendas. What i find interesting is that WND chose the text based on some focus polling?? or other input from regular readers; one must assume that the results, as Ed pointed out, do reflect the voice of the usual readership there. Were the various "YES" responses created to afford the opportunity for regular WND users to have to choose between their immediate hate of religious diversity and support of the First Amendment???
Why do so many self-styled "libertarians" still throw in their lots with the Republicans? I just don't understand. Rightist ideologies are not and never have been compatible with "small government" and civil liberties. Any such rhetoric coming from a rightist is sheer bilge.
What is amusing is the fact that the VA has approved AT LEAST 5 other denominations while giving Pagans and Wiccans the "updating our approval process" run-around.
Could anyone please tell me who the head of the Atheist "denomination" would be? Please?
Ah, the Pentagon's 1996 Wicca decision. I remember it fondly -- like when former GA Rep. Bob Barr suggested that Christians boycott the Army because Wiccans were allowed to worship at Ft. Hood.
But now he's a privacy advocate, so all is well. Isn't it?
For the record, the Barr flap occurred in 1999. In doing a little Googling, I notice that the then-governor of Texas was asked about Wicca at Ft. Hood on Good Morning America, and had this to say:
"The military should rethink their position. That's not a religion."
Grumpy-
Wow, do you have a link to Bush saying that? I've written about the Barr/Wiccan episode many times (it wasn't just him, a bunch of religious right organizations actually urged a boycott of joining the military to protest the fact that the military even allowed Wiccans to join!) and hadn't seen that.
Take a look here. url=http://www.positiveatheism.org/writ/bushwicca.htm
I can't believe no one has used this one yet.
Headline:
Pentagon Says No To Pentagram!
Barr is an odd one. In some cases he comes off like a typical fundamentalist suppressor of civil rights (as in his desire to oppress non-christians), and in other cases like a forceful supporter of civil rights (as in his opposition to the Patriot Act).