...........fuck it, I'll bite. My flight got canceled today and I need a brief break from Mass Effect 3. The content of my post is completely based on my meaningless and speculative opinion that Christianity has become a bigger force in this country than it deserves to be, and its practicers sometimes lose sight of the fact that the government has no business favoring it over any other religion. Which means, consequentially, that when the Armed Forces is put in a position where it needs to suppress religious conversation among its ranks (which someone earlier said is acceptable by regs), Christianity enjoys an equal share of the chopping block despite it being (currently) the country's most popular religion.
Look at the highlighted portion. This shit is exactly why Christianity is a bigger deal than you're making it. Whereas Christianity is normal and accepted, one must go "so far" as to post a passage from the Quran. If you look at Christianity any differently than you do Islam, then you are favoring one religion over another, and that is the vital root of the problem in stories like this.
Christian scriptures are hardly a threat—to Christians. In this country, an atheist is best off keeping his/her mouth shut. I'm not sure what's more risky around here nowadays: being an atheist or being a Muslim. Christianity is absolutely ingrained in our daily life so casually that we overlook the areas of society it pervades. Hell, if you aren't (at least proclaiming in some way to be) Christian, you can't hold office. Nobody trusts you. In some areas of the country—I'm currently enjoying Pensacola, which is as right-wing crazy as it has gotten for me since moving from Southern California—not being a Christian can be a really bad thing.
I'm not personally sensitive enough to give a shit or feel offended by religious symbolism or discussion, but when people I know bring the conversation in a direction toward God, I can't really offer anything. Plenty of people talk about God's opinions on the war, on Muslims, on whatever. That's because it's okay to do that here. Shit will hit the fan when American Muslims start talking about Allah's opinion on anything. But again, just me speculating.
Also, try and consider the relationship between a Christian (or whatever) and somebody who admits to not holding those religious beliefs. Consider your own feelings, please, because I don't share them and cannot comment on them. I can only comment from the perspective of somebody who has been treated differently upon discovery that I am not a Christian. I would be disappointed if I experienced that interaction in flight school or, worse, out in the fleet. It's hard to deny that religion can be a serious point of contention between people. It's even worse than politics! I can think of a blanket policy that could prevent that awkward and often inevitable exchange between our military peers.
I don't think that's true. Someone post regs if I'm wrong, but that sounds a little too "Free Speech Violaty" even for our de-Constitutionalized Armed Forces.
Again, this guy is an idiot. He's not even pushing for a "religious neutral" environment. It feels like he's blatantly attacking Christians as covered earlier in this topic. I don't care to spend time with his complaint history, but I'd be interested to know whether he's ever raised a case against any other religion (unlikely, though, because I doubt practicers of other religions would feel comfortable enough to express themselves in the American military, but now I'm just speculating).
A follow-up article (which I read past the headline): http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2014...-god-word-vs-pentagon-word/?intcmp=latestnews
...The Christian cleansing of the Bible verse led to a small uprising among cadets. At least a dozen posted Bible verses on their personal white boards and some even went so far as to post passages from the Koran. Those verses were not removed, presumably because the cadets were not in leadership positions...
Look at the highlighted portion. This shit is exactly why Christianity is a bigger deal than you're making it. Whereas Christianity is normal and accepted, one must go "so far" as to post a passage from the Quran. If you look at Christianity any differently than you do Islam, then you are favoring one religion over another, and that is the vital root of the problem in stories like this.
“This academy should be training warriors who can deal with difficult situations and determined enemies,” Boykin said. “A scripture is hardly a threat.”
Christian scriptures are hardly a threat—to Christians. In this country, an atheist is best off keeping his/her mouth shut. I'm not sure what's more risky around here nowadays: being an atheist or being a Muslim. Christianity is absolutely ingrained in our daily life so casually that we overlook the areas of society it pervades. Hell, if you aren't (at least proclaiming in some way to be) Christian, you can't hold office. Nobody trusts you. In some areas of the country—I'm currently enjoying Pensacola, which is as right-wing crazy as it has gotten for me since moving from Southern California—not being a Christian can be a really bad thing.
I'm not personally sensitive enough to give a shit or feel offended by religious symbolism or discussion, but when people I know bring the conversation in a direction toward God, I can't really offer anything. Plenty of people talk about God's opinions on the war, on Muslims, on whatever. That's because it's okay to do that here. Shit will hit the fan when American Muslims start talking about Allah's opinion on anything. But again, just me speculating.
Also, try and consider the relationship between a Christian (or whatever) and somebody who admits to not holding those religious beliefs. Consider your own feelings, please, because I don't share them and cannot comment on them. I can only comment from the perspective of somebody who has been treated differently upon discovery that I am not a Christian. I would be disappointed if I experienced that interaction in flight school or, worse, out in the fleet. It's hard to deny that religion can be a serious point of contention between people. It's even worse than politics! I can think of a blanket policy that could prevent that awkward and often inevitable exchange between our military peers.
...one of the cadets told me. “It’s even too risky to go out into the hallway and talk to a Christian friend about your faith. It’s because there are people here who are so easily offended. If someone overheard us talking about Christianity, they could file a complaint. They could say we were having that discussion in a public space.”
I don't think that's true. Someone post regs if I'm wrong, but that sounds a little too "Free Speech Violaty" even for our de-Constitutionalized Armed Forces.
...Weinstein is vowing to take the Air Force Academy to court unless they punish every cadet who posted a Bible verse on their bulletin boards...
...Weinstein likened the posting of the Bible verses to racism...
Again, this guy is an idiot. He's not even pushing for a "religious neutral" environment. It feels like he's blatantly attacking Christians as covered earlier in this topic. I don't care to spend time with his complaint history, but I'd be interested to know whether he's ever raised a case against any other religion (unlikely, though, because I doubt practicers of other religions would feel comfortable enough to express themselves in the American military, but now I'm just speculating).
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