Action
Of all the threats to our national security today, activist Mikey Weinstein has decided that military editions of the Bible deserve the attention of his militant secularist group, the Military Religious Freedom Foundation. After the group threatened a class-action lawsuit, the Pentagon conspicuously revoked approval to use the logo of each service branch on the covers of Bibles sold in military exchange stores. Weinstein even insists that all the remaining copies be purged from the store shelves.
Let's be clear here: The Bibles were sold at no cost to the government, and service members voluntarily purchased them. At no point were military members coerced or encouraged by their superiors to buy the books. They were simply for sale in the military exchange stores. Yet Weinstein told Fox News that their mere presence on the shelves constitutes a religious endorsement by the Department of Defense. "If their logos are being placed on a particular version of Christianity... when we are engaged in a war with fundamentalist Muslims -- it's a security threat."
While the Bible may indeed be a threat, it's not to our national security. The Bible is a threat to the depression, loneliness, broken marriages, and high suicide rates that the brave men and women of our military face every day. When so many of our soldiers are suffering, why would the Department of Defense be so intent on removing such a source of solace? Why -- especially in time of war -- would Defense officials spend time and effort on an issue that doesn't help our servicemen and women?
Months before the start of World War II, President Franklin Roosevelt actually wrote the prologue to the Gideon Bibles given to the Armed Forces, encouraging them to draw courage from its contents. "As Commander-in-Chief, I take pleasure in commending the reading of the Bible to all who serve in the armed forces of the United States. Throughout the centuries, men of many faiths and diverse origins have found in the Sacred Book words of wisdom, counsel, and inspiration. It is a fountain of strength, and now, as always, an aid in attaining the highest aspirations of the human soul."
Will the Department of Defense once again cave to a small group of militant secularist activists? Please sign our petition, which we will deliver to the Defense officials, and join us in urging them to reverse their decision and stand strong against those who seek to purge our military of one of its greatest sources of strength.