Posted on 10/26/2007 1:23:22 PM PDT by Sopater
An American Legion commander in California says he and other veterans will defy a newly imposed ban on flag-folding recitations that include references to God.
During thousands of military burials, Veterans Administration employees and volunteers have folded the American flag 13 times and recited the significance of every fold to survivors. The fourth fold, for example, refers to God's "divine guidance." The 11th fold glorifies "the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." And the 12th fold glorifies "God the Father, the Son and Holy Ghost." Now the National Cemetery Association has made a decision to ban flag-folding recitations by VA employees and volunteers at all 125 national cemeteries -- all because of one complaint about a ceremony at Riverside National Cemetery in California that included a reference to God.
Rees Lloyd is director of the California Defense of Veterans Memorials Project and part of a 16-member detail that has performed military honors at more than 1,400 services. He says veterans -- and in particular, American Legionnaires -- are outraged by the ban.
"It's outrageous," he says bluntly. "These are decisions that should be made by the families of our deceased veteran comrades and not by Washington bureaucrats -- and most certainly not by any narcissistic, disaffected, offended atheist, agnostic, or any other [person] who is upset or offended by the word 'God' or a religious symbol which might offend his delicate sensibilities."
Lloyd vows that even if there are "a hundred-million offended atheists," he and other American Legionnaires will stand against the ban.
"We will defy this ban, pure and simple," he states. "If the families ask us to recite the flag-folding ceremony, we will abide by the wishes of the family -- not [by the wishes of] some bureaucrat sitting in an air-conditioned office in Washington, DC, or some lawyer wearing a diaper back there whose main mission in life is to protect his own behind instead of standing up for the American people and saying enough is enough."
Lloyd, who is a California civil rights attorney, says he and his allies at the Alliance Defense Fund are considering their legal options.
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A BLOGGER’S COMMENT
We need a new word: “CHRISTOPHOBE: n. One
who fears any mention of the Christian God and
seeks to forcibly ban any and all refences to same.”
You know, like they call Christians “homophobes”
because we don’t condone homosexuality. (Or is
“Christophobe” already a term?)
Blogger: If Christophobe IS a term, it needs to
be used often ... wielded like a sword!
Well said! Sounds like someone you'd want in the foxhole with ya, huh?
God bless them! They are doing exactly the right thing.
If “the silent majority” had stood up against this type of thing during the sixties and seventies, we wouldn’t be having to deal with it now.
California. It figures.
bttt
And parents - you know tax payers - can stand in the parking lots of the schools they paid for and recite the pledge if their local schools have banned the pledge in part or entirely.
Then maybe these morons will finally stop issuing edicts they can’t enforce.
Is this recitation an American Legion ceremonial?
I attended well over 100 military funerals from 1966 - 1986, the last few as the NCOIC and flag presenter. We had a simple recitation - On behalf of a grateful nation, I present this flag as a token of appreciation for the honorable and faithful service your loved one rendered this nation.
The wording had changed slightly over the years, but remained basically the same. The last one I attended had added the words On behalf of the President of the United States
ping
Who is that fellow on the top?
I just posted this 2 seconds ago over on MLF site.
Perposterous!
The warden from “Cool Hand Luke”
“What we have here is a failure to communicate.”
Every time I see that picture - of all those poor folks crowding the windows at the WTC - I want to cry. I worked there, and I just feel as if I know every one of them.
They didn’t even mention Christ. Just the word “God” was apparently enough to set off the village athiest.
As it should be. Such a reasonable solution!
Paul Harvey says:
I don't believe in Santa Claus, but I'm not going to sue somebody for singing a Ho-Ho-Ho song in December. I don't agree with Darwin, but I didn't go out and hire a lawyer when my high school teacher taught his Theory of Evolution Life, liberty or your pursuit of happiness will not be endangered because someone says a 30-second prayer before a football game.
So what's the big deal? It's not like somebody is up there reading the entire book of Acts. They're just talking to a God they believe in and asking him to grant safety to the players on the field and the fans going home from the game.
But it's a Christian prayer, some will argue. Yes, and this is the United States of America, a country founded on Christian principles. According to our very own phone book, Christian churches outnumber all others better than 200-to-1. So what would you expect -- somebody chanting Hare Krishna?
If I went to a football game in Jerusalem, I would expect to hear a Jewish prayer.
If I went to a soccer game in Baghdad, I would expect to hear a Muslim prayer.
If I went to a ping pong match in China, I would expect to hear someone pray to Buddha.
1) high school valedictorians should pray at their speeches,
2) Soldiers first should praise god before giving an interview with any reporter, and during interview, i.e. “it was only by the grace of god that we destroyed the Muslim IED cell.”
3) People should ask for prayer meetings in government work spaces
the days that the pedophiles get more rights than VA funeral workers is the start of the end of times.
Right click the photo and check Properties. It says "Cool Hand Luke."
Symbols for the Folds of the Flag http://www.legion.org/?section=americanism&subsection=flag_folding&content=flag_symbols
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