Thursday, August 15, 2013

The Military Attacks Personal Beliefs

I was upset when I read the article Airmen Punished for Objecting to Gay Marriage. I was upset because I do not think anyone should be punished for their beliefs. I do not know how each of you feel about homosexuality and that is not what I am attacking here, what I am attacking is the fact that the military is telling one man that he is not entitled to his personal opinion.

Senior Master Sgt. Phillip Monk was put in an uncomfortable position and forced to make a choice.  He said, "“I don’t believe someone having an opinion for or against homosexuality is discriminatory,” Monk told Fox News."
I agree with Senior Master Sgt. Phillip Monk. Personal opinions should not be called into question.

Monk told his superior that she should use it as a learning experience, and instead he was told that he was not on the same page as his supervisor. She wanted him to have the same opinion that she did and because he knew he could not agree with her he chose not to answer and felt it was better that he leave.

Monk said that essentially, "Christians are trading places with homosexuals." He said that Christians are being robbed of their dignity and being forced into the closet. This is wrong. Each person is entitled to their opinion and should not be punished for what they believe.





This is as bad as people who say you are racist for not believing in Obama's politics. Both are wrong and in this case this man is being told what he believes is wrong, and therefore he must change his beliefs in order to serve in the military under this supervisor.  He has 19 years of service, and yet he is now not a good person because of his beliefs. Having a difference of opinion on this topic is now against military policy according to Master Sargent Monk. In my opinion this is a load of crap.

No one can tell you what you can think or believe. That is a personal right.  Unless we are now living in the past under Nazi rule, we are allowed our own opinions, that is what makes the world what it is. We are each unique and we are each entitled to own opinions and beliefs.



Tuesday, August 6, 2013

I was very upset when I read on Todd Starnes  July 24 2013 Fox News Commentary, that a military chaplain was ordered to remove the following post:
“Chaplain’s Corner: No Atheists in Foxholes: Chaplains Gave All in World War II”
By Lt. Col. Kenneth Reyes
Many have heard the familiar phrase, “There is no such thing as an atheist in a fox hole.”
Where did this come from?
Research I verified in an interview with former World War II prisoner of war Roy Bodine (my friend) indicates the phrase has been credited to Father William Cummings.
As the story goes, Father Cummings was a civilian missionary Catholic priest in the Philippines.
The phrase was coined during the Japanese attack at Corregidor.
During the siege, Cummings had noticed non-Catholics were attending his services.
Some he knew were not Catholic, some were not religious and some were even known atheists.
Life-and-death experiences prompt a reality check.
Even the strongest of beliefs can change, and, I may add, can go both ways – people can be drawn to or away from “faith.”
With the pending surrender of allied forces to the Japanese, Cummings uttered the famous phrase “There is no such thing as an atheist in a fox hole.”
In one of my many discussions with Roy, he distinctly remembered a period on the “Hell Ships” – these were ships the Japanese used to bring POWs from the Philippines back to Japan.
They were unmarked and thus ‘fair game’ for attacks from the allies from the air and sea.
Of the 3,000-plus POWs listed on the ships, only 180 survived the journey.
“When our own planes were attacking us,” Roy said, “I remember Father Cummings calming us down by reciting the Lord’s Prayer and offering up prayers on our behalf.
For a brief moment I did not hear the yells and screams of dying men as our boat was attacked by our own men.”
He went on to say, “There was a peaceful quiet during the attack that I cannot explain nor have experienced since.”
Later on during the trip to Japan, Cummings, after giving his food to others who needed it more, succumbed to his own need and died of starvation.
Everyone expresses some form of faith every day, whether it is religious or secular.
Some express faith by believing when they get up in the morning they will arrive at work in one piece, thankful they have been given another opportunity to enjoy the majesty of the day; or express relief the doctor’s results were negative.
The real question is, “Is it important to have faith in ‘faith’ itself or is it more important to ask, ‘What is the object of my faith?’”
Roy never affirmed or expressed whether his faith was rooted in religion or not, but for a moment in time on the “Hell Ships,” he believed in Cummings’ faith.
What is the root or object of your faith?
Is it something you can count on in times of plenty or loss; peace or chaos; joy or sorrow; success or failure?
Is it something you can count on in times of plenty or loss; peace or chaos; joy or sorrow; success or failure?
What is ‘faith’ to you?

Supposedly it was an attack on atheists or rather out of respect for those who were offended by it. I do not see anything offensive in this writing, and am personally offended that it was taken down. To me it deals with history and talks about how people react in war, not in anyway offensive, just a reporting of what happened during WWII and asking people to think about themselves and how they would react in a similar situation.

Those who say there were offended by this in my opinion are just out to cause problems and make a fuss for the sake of a fuss.

Personally, I do believe in God and that is my choice. If you choose not to, that is your choice and we can simply agree to disagree. You should not be able to tell me that I cannot express my own views on the subject, and I should not be able to tell you the same. We can debate the issue if you would like, but I still have the right to express my thoughts and opinions, as that is guaranteed by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.  This military chaplain was deprived of that right by others and in my opinion they should be punished for this, not him. The Chaplain's rights were violated, not those that complained.  They had the choice to read or not read what he wrote and they are the ones in the wrong. They owe the chaplain,  Lt. Col. Kenneth Reyes, an apology.

It Is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to Pay Off Your College Loan

  There is a key point that the leftist are totally missing in their, asinine argument, saying that the government should pay off student lo...