Posted on 12/06/2012 8:21:03 AM PST by crosshairs
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- A cadet quitting West Point less than six months before graduation says he could no longer be part of a culture that promotes prayers and religious activities and disrespects nonreligious cadets. Blake Page announced his decision to quit the U.S. Military Academy this week in a much-discussed online post that echoed the sentiments of soldiers and airmen at other military installations.
The 24-year-old told The Associated Press that a determination this semester that he could not become an officer because of clinical depression played a role in his public protest against what he calls the unconstitutional prevalence of religion in the military. "I've been trying since I found that out: What can I do? What can I possibly do to initiate the change that I want to see and so many other people want to see?" Page said. "I realized that this is one way I can make that change happen." Page criticized a culture where cadets stand silently for prayers, where nonreligious cadets were jokingly called "heathens" by instructors at basic training and where one officer told him he'd never be a leader until he filled the hole in his heart. In announcing his resignation this week on The Huffington Post, he denounced "criminals" in the military who violate the oaths they swore to defend the Constitution.
"I don't want to be a part of West Point knowing that the leadership here is OK with just shrugging off and shirking off respect and good order and discipline and obeying the law and defending the Constitution and doing their job," he told the AP. West Point officials on Wednesday disputed those assertions.
(Excerpt) Read more at hosted.ap.org ...
Oh please! If he'd left the school to go home to help his mother or siblings get through his father's suicide, then I'd have more compassion for him, but he's blaming religion at the school for his departure.
According to the article, his father committed suicide last year, not this year.
According to the article, his father committed suicide last year, not this year.
because christ reserved his compassion only for those he felt deserved it . . . never for his enemies.
Exactly! He had no "problems" for 3.5 years, then ALL OF A SUDDEN, his "atheism" is just simply not tolerated?
His anxiety and depression was the likely reason for his (honorable) discharge, and he used "atheism" as a rather flimsy excuse.
No shame in getting an honorable discharge for having something you can't control like mental illness.
Blaming "religion" is pathetic, and frankly disgusting.
The MSM should be ashamed for holding this unfortunate man up as some kind of "hero". He's not.
He should try Cuba instead.
My friend’s son received an appointment, he is in his second year.....the scholarship was $180K for the four years.
Check that, my friend’s son is at Annapolis.......sorry.
My guess, the scholarships are similar in dollars.
It strikes me as very likely that this guy is mentally ill, very like his father was, but these days, we have support groups all over the place for what we used to call quite honestly nut cases.
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