| ACTION - Lammas 2006 - Article 6 |
Action is the official newsletter of the Alternative Religions Educational Network
TWO STORIES |
Some years ago, back in the Navy, I was eating in the chow hall of Naval Hospital Portsmouth and I dropped my fork. When I bent over to pick it up, my necklace slipped out of my shirt. Navy Regulations state that you may wear a necklace if it is not visible while in uniform. So, I tucked it back in my shirt, making it no longer visible. Unfortunately, in any random group of ten, there is one to whom epithets may be applied. This one was a Security Police Petty Officer. Unfortunately, his crow had two troughs to crap in, and mine only had one...so he outranked me. He says to me, "Hey, Doc...let me see your necklace" Sounds like an order to me. So I show him my happy little pentagram, all nice and simple and stuff. He about flips, and I realize my lunch break is OVER. We take a little walk to another building, and he photocopies my ID card. The Chief of Security is at lunch, so I am ordered to be back at 1300. Easy enough. I haul tail back to the Male Bachelors Enlisted Quarters and wake up my roommate. I tell him, "I need to borrow one of your necklaces." He is a little suspicious..."I don't think I am allowed to help you convert", but he loans me one, a nice silver one. I leave the Pentagram in the room and wear David's necklace to my meeting at Security at one o'clock. So, the PO2 who saw my pentagram breathlessly explains to the CPO that I am a Satanist, as evidenced by my jewelry. I am told by the CPO to reveal the item. Sounds like an order. So I pull out HM3 Levinowitz's necklace. The CPO says, "HM3 Leddon, you are dismissed...." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Not too long after that, I was working in Sick Call. I had just I worked for Senior Chief M, who for the most part was the perfect example of a Southern Gentleman...for the most part. I also had a bit to do with Chief B, who was an alcoholic but fancied himself the second coming of Dr. Phillip Lister. The way my day went was like this: I'd come in, along with the rest of the department, and the HM1 (I don't remember his name) would read the daily news for the base. There would often be a quote from Confucius, Buddha, or some such figure, and he'd always mangle those. Then I'd start triage, taking vital signs and preparing paperwork so that Chief B could assess them, write prescriptions, order lab work, or whatever. Sometime around noon, Senior Chief M would yell at me, then I'd go to lunch, and after lunch, some of the other lowranking types would try to convert me to Christianity. Well, one day, I asked my roommate Fisher to make a cover for my Complete Book of Witchcraft. Fish was Wiccan, really smart, and a superb artist. He agreed and took the book. A few days later, he dropped it by my office. I placed the book--in a brown bag book cover, covered in geometric designs with no meaning--in MY desk, then went to lunch. I returned to a counseling session in which I was given a written order to convert to Christianity and to not possess such filth. The order went into my Division Officer's file. Copies of the cover and the title page were inserted into my file. I took the book home and went looking for others that were the same size. I found one--a Navy training manual that the CAPT of the base had ordered that EVERYONE of my rank and below should study. So I threw my new cover on THAT book and arranged with a coven mate that this should be dropped off to me on my lunch break. The next day, I returned from lunch and was escorted to Security, where I was asked if I realized that I had disobeyed an order by bringing "that witchcraft book" on base. I launched into my carefully rehearsed speech about Wicca being a valid religion. I was ordered to see the Command Master Chief. Master Chief S carefully considered what he was told, and asked me about disobeying orders as he thumbed through photocopies. I felt it was too early to give up this game, so I reiterated my speech. He ordered me to see the executive officer. I don't remember the XO's name (it’s been 17 years!!), but he was a surgeon, a full bird Captain, and XO of a major naval activity. He stated that he was uncomfortable taking responsibility for this (sheesh). So Monday, I got to see CAPT R. The big guy. The Old Man. Well, the skipper asked me if I had disobeyed an order by bringing that witchcraft book back to base. As he asked, he held up the book that was causing all of the trouble. I calmly explained to him that, if he would remove the dust cover, he would see that I had not disobeyed an order. He pulled the dust cover off, revealing the "book of witchcraft" that so many in his command had decided to punish me for.... Folks...faces are not supposed to turn that shade of purple. I don't know the details, but I'll bet five people in positions of responsibility were each mighty sorry the next day. I was transferred to a new duty in the command, more challenging and better for my career. Reprinted by permission from: Military Medical Corpse: The Premeditated Murder of U.S. Military Medicine, Copyright (C) 2006 R. Carlton Jones, M.D.,all rights reserved; http://www.medicalcorpse.com Editor’s note: Below are selected portions of one chapter of Dr. Jones’s upcoming book. I thank him for his permission to reprint it here. Christopher Blackwell, Editor Chapter 31: One Air Force under Jesus: The Incredible, (Almost) Unopposed Christianization of a U.S. Governmental Entity http://www.medicalcorpse.com/oneUSAFunderJesus.html SCRAPE OFF THE DARWIN FISH FOR JESUS YOU HEATHEN, OR I WILL, IN JESUS' NAME When I joined the U.S. military in September, 1981, I was still a churchgoing, fire and brimstone-believing, Southern Baptist preacher's kid. Any references to God with regard to the USA ("In God We Trust") seemed self-evident to me. However, I noted from the beginning with interest that the USAF, and the military in general, seemed to go out of its way to foster inclusiveness and spiritual diversity in order to focus on the mission at hand: defending the Constitution of the United States against all enemies (and especially the Soviet Union). As my philosophical and religious views evolved at Harvard in reaction to personal events and interaction with intelligent classmates from around the world, I had no fear that my new Zen Buddhist and Pagan beliefs would interfere with my planned 20 year career in Air Force medicine. I felt secure in the knowledge that the USAF provided a "safe haven" for people of all spiritual beliefs. That all began to change in the mid-1990s. In my opinion, as a result of the military culture's extreme hatred of President Bill Clinton, both due to his liberal policies and personal misconduct, it became increasingly more fashionable to inject Christianity —-overt, proselytizing Christianity-- into everyday military life. Hand in hand with this trend was the initially subtle, then, later, blatant persecution and ostracization of those who would not toe the Evangelical Christian party line. Our first rude indication that the winds of religious climate, and tolerance for freedom of expression on military bases, were changing for the worse occurred around 1999. For several years, my wife and I had displayed "Darwin" fish bumper decorations on our cars. One day, my wife came out to her car in the parking lot of David Grant Medical Center, Travis AFB, where we both worked as physicians to find a note taped to the windshield: "Darwin is Dead...Jesus is Alive..." A few days later, somebody let the air out of her tires. We had them re-inflated and checked at our local Toyota dealership: the tires were fine (no leaks). A few days later, it happened again. After a long day slaving as a resident family physician in the hospital,my wife couldn't drive home to see her family, because SOMEBODY objected to a plastic fish SO much that they felt free to assault our car and abuse our property on a military installation. A few days later, someone used a key forcefully to SCRAPE the plastic Darwin fish off of our trunk, causing several hundred dollars worth of damage to the paint. At that point, my wife insisted that I remove the Darwin fish from our Lexus, lest we have to pay several hundred more dollars in repair fees. Final score: Destructive Christian fanatics 1, pro-evolution freedom of speech 0. Interestingly, after the Darwin fish were removed (by force and by practical choice), our tire problems vanished. Nevertheless, we comforted ourselves with the knowledge that the Air Force secretary, Sheila Widnall, had promulgated the "Air Force Core Values" handbook, which established that religion is a personal matter; and with the knowledge that Bill Clinton would never condone the misuse of military rank and power structures to enforce uniformity of religion in the uniformed services. CONTRIBUTE CANNED GOODS IN CELEBRATION OF JESUS' BIRTHDAY OR DIE That all changed when George W. Bush took office in 2001. At first, the change in attitudes toward religion in the military was subtle. Then, in June 2003, Col. (soon to be Brigadier General) (Dr.) William J. Germann assumed command of my hospital, Malcolm Grow "Medical Center", from the *nurse* who had previously commanded us. Suddenly, religious icons started sprouting up all over the medical center. In September, 2003, the General arranged a "Health Fair" centered around "Spiritual Wellness". The display in the front lobby of the hospital was very offensive to me; it included a ceramic model of praying hands with a book that stated something like "God is the Great Physician". More and more evangelical Christian verbiage seeped into official e-mails. Senior NCOs began adding Christian Bible verses as taglines on their official e-mail. Then, amazingly, official senior NCOs began demanding MANDATORY food donations for Thanksgiving (a secular holiday for most, but not for evangelical Christians), and, of all things...CHRISTMAS: From: Jones, Robert LtCol 89 MSGS/SGCJ First, I have referred this "mandatory" donation situation to the base JAG office (LtCol S./Capt D.), who agree that the wording and spirit ("needs to donate";"Christmas") violate Air Force and DoD rules regarding solicitation of active duty personnel as well as separation of church and state. We have Jewish personnel (LtCol W.), Muslim personnel (SMSgt W.), and Pagan personnel (LtCol Jones) in this squadron who may OBJECT to donating to a *Christmas*/Thanksgiving basket. Moreover, I find your inclusion of a Christian Bible verse (Isaiah "41:10 Fear thou not; for I [am] with thee: be not dismayed; for I [am] thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. " ...has no relationship to Holiday baskets, and may be construed as sanctioning an official religion for our Squadron (e.g., Christianity). I would ask that you, as our superintendent, consider the feelings of your non-Christian squadron personnel, and reconsider your inclusion of religious verses in your e-mail taglines. Sincerely, Robert C. Jones, M.D. Boy, people got mad at me for that e-mail! Many of the guilty parties concerned claimed that I was "overreacting". I asked one of them how he would feel if he were required mandatorily to donate food for a Pagan holiday (Beltane, for example), because that was exactly how I felt being forced to contribute in the name of a Christian holiday. I could hear the steam whistling from his ears through the phone lines. Note that I didn't just object to over Christian verbiage from NCOs; here's my e-mail to an anesthesiologist colleague and good friend: ------------------------------------------------------------------- From: (my colleague anesthesiologist) Capt 89MDG/SGCJ (Colleague's Name), First off, thanks for inviting us to your home for the holiday party. Second, you probably don't know this, but I am in the middle of a flame war with some of the senior people in this squadron regarding the "Christmas" verbiage. I really would appreciate it if this could be a "Holiday" party, as the Christ business is not very inclusive to us pagans. Also, there are folks who are Jewish, Muslim, etc., in our squadron... Thanks for your understanding, and <parody> may the Goddess Bless you and may the Goddess bless the United States of America </parody> --Rob SAVING CHRISTMAS FOR JESUS IN THE UNITED STATES AIR FORCE OF JESUS A few days later, in early December, 2003. I ride the elevators down from the second floor to the chow hall in the basement of Malcolm Grow "Medical Center", Andrews AFB, to be struck in the face (figuratively) by the following flyer taped to the wall: "Announcing the 89th Medical Group Christmas Party". On the flyer, little baby Jesus, star of Bethlehem, and a fricking shepherd with a staff. No discussion of "Holiday Party", no Menorah, no secular symbols of the Winter Holiday (snowmen, etc.). Purely religious proselytization on a Federal military installation. This was unacceptable. I took a copy up to the O.R., where I met our very nice Jewish podiatrist. I asked him whether he found the flyer offensive. He told me he did, but that he had given up trying to fight against the increasing Christianization of the USAF; besides, he was close to retirement, so he no longer wanted to rock the boat. I, on the other hand, had no such limitations: after the two unjust LORs I had received for trying to save patients' lives, I had decided to resign my commission and leave the USAF when my commitment was up in 2005. Thus, I called up the command section and requested to speak to the person responsible for these flyers. A very nice Chief Master Sergeant whom I knew, Chief A., picked up the phone. I shared with him my appall and outrage at the overtly sectarian nature of what had always been, in my twenty two years in the military (since ROTC), the "Winter Holiday Party". Long sigh over the phone. "I told them at the command staff meeting that people were going to complain about this, but nobody listened to me. The booster club is usually responsible for putting up these flyers, but this year, the General personally insisted that his wife was going to design the flyers for the Christmas, er, Holiday party. “ “If you have any questions about this, you're going to have to speak with the General. However, he is currently unavailable, so, with your permission, Sir, I'll just take down your info and have him get in touch with you later." I gave the Chief my office phone and pager number. Later that evening, around 5 PM, I was helping our Chief Nurse Anesthetist manage a severely demented gentleman who was undergoing hip fracture repair under spinal anesthesia, when I got a page. Chief A. told me that the General wanted to see me immediately in his office. I told the Chief that it wasn't a good time, given that I was tied up with patient care; the Chief insisted that I had no choice but to abandon my clinical care for a patient in the Operating Room and report to the General's office IMMEDIATELY. I made sure that the spinal was working, and that the patient's sedation had kicked in well enough that the CRNA felt comfortable managing the patient alone. I threw a white coat over my scrubs (so that I could return to help the CRNA in an emergency), and took the elevator downstairs to the Command Section, commonly known as "tiptoe alley." The General invited me to sit after I saluted him formally upon reporting; he was not cruel in his attitude or demeanor, but he forcefully outlined his position that the "Majority" of people in the Medical Group celebrated Christmas, rather than a "Winter Holiday", so thus, as Commander of the Medical Group, it was within his purview to gear the party toward the "Majority", rather than the minority. I was shocked. I told him that, in my years in the military, I had NEVER seen such overt intrusion of organized religion and frank proselytization into a Federal organization as I had seen since he had arrived in June 2003. I told him of the British General's letter which one of our NCOICs had seen fit to post at the front of the O.R. shortly after the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom; it stated that we would win because God was on our side as Christians fighting against non-believers (Muslims, by extrapolation). I reminded him of the "Spirituality in Medicine Fair" display he had allowed in the front entrance of the hospital in September, 2003, which included praying hands which stated that God was the Great Physician. I told him of my extensive discussion with Public Affairs and the Hospital Chaplain regarding his (General Germann's) order to place a Christian Prayer at the top of every single Hospital Daily Bulletin sent out by e-mail; and how it was due to my actions that the formerly Official Daily Bulletin obtained the fig leaf of calling itself "Unofficial", so that the Christian prayers could continue at the top of the bulletins. I told him of the flame wars I had been involved with since Nov 2003 regarding mandatory donations for Christmas. I then told him that, in my opinion, his responsibility as General Commanding Officer of the Medical Group was to be a Commander for EVERYONE, not just the majority. In fact, given U.S. and world history, it should be recognized that minority religions need MORE, rather than LESS, protection from the tyranny of the majority. I told him that I, as both a practicing Zen Buddhist and Pagan, felt disrespected, denigrated, and ostracized by the overtly Christian intrusions into what used to be a non-denominational institution which respected the Consitutional requirement of separation of Church and state. I told him that, as far as I was concerned, this type of frank proselytization and Christianization would not stand; if I had to go to the base and then the Air Force IG, so be it. He then told me that he was planning a new, official hospital Committee to address these and other "spiritual"/religious issues within the medical group. He was planning on calling it the Spiritual Life Committee; he then essentially ordered me to take part in it. In the end, I saluted him and left. The name of the "Holiday Party" remained "Christmas Party"; no e-mail retraction or change in the posters ever occurred. |