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thedrifter
11-09-03, 07:28 AM
11-07-2003

Reign in Religious Zealots In the Military



By Ralf W. Zimmermann



Lt. Gen. William Boykin’s recent exposure as a uniformed media evangelist couldn’t have come at a worse time for U.S. foreign relations. Just when Muslims around the world accuse the United States of waging a holy war for Christianity and Israel’s cause, General Boykin’s lecturing escapades and the tirades of many extreme church groupings seem to prove them right.



Now, I can actually deal with the well-dressed TV freaks, frightening their poor congregations into buying absolution and useless relics, just like the corrupt preachers during Martin Luther’s times. That’s all about free speech and the pursuit of personal fulfillment. Boykin however, worries me.



Here is a highly decorated senior officer, who should be an enlightened leader of our youth and advocate for American ideals. But what does he do? He’s telling the world that our war on terror is based on competing religions. Boykin claims that we’re in a life-and-death struggle with Satan and that Saddam and Bin Laden are the devil’s instruments to destroy the Christian nation of America and its ally, Israel.



Not different from the times of the great crusades, he firmly believes that our God is of course the better God, ensuring we will come out as the winner. He also stated openly that our current Prez is in the White House for God’s personal reasons. Wow – scary thoughts for a man who helps shape this century!



In an age where more religious tolerance should be the norm, the general’s religious fanaticism is indeed troublesome. Firstly, it is fanaticism versus healthy belief. It’s even more troublesome when you hear and read of congressional representatives not defending religious freethinking as envisioned by the Constitution, but jumping to defend the zealous general. For them, he is a reincarnated Stonewall Jackson. Instead of writing letters of support, our representatives ought to remember their constitutional duty and ask for the officer’s early retirement, as well as clear policy enforcement for freedom of religion in all services.



The struggle over religious influence in our military is one that can’t be overlooked and runs deeper than Boykin’s personal lectures. Too often, in my twenty years of military service, I experienced senior military leaders push religion on subordinates. Many seniors strongly advocated prayer breakfast attendances with threats of efficiency report repercussions.



One Fort Hood brigade commander actually made his officers attend Sunday worship services with reportable consequences. The man is a general today, probably believing he was doing God’s work. Then there were numerous chaplains who had to bless our tank guns to assure the highest gunnery training scores. I always abhorred their practices because I thought if there is a God out there, desperately trying to sort out our complex world, we should not waste his divine efforts on mere training events.



Although I grew up as a Catholic, my father – a World War II veteran – never forced single-minded religion on me. Our family always held that there was a higher power out there but that it didn’t have to be in the image of only one religion. I believe that’s what the fathers of our Constitution actually envisioned. Not a nation without trust in a higher force but with free choice as to what or whom we believe in – a universal force of good.



Having been in a few dangerous spots in my lifetime and listening to vets of many conflicts and from different nations, I assure you that that war and its terror almost demands that you trust something bigger than yourself to get you through. In the killing fields, many of us experience interventions, may they be divine or spiritual in other ways.



Since we now live in the 21st century, it’s time we actually empower people to follow their own religious beliefs, as envisioned by our Constitution. King Frederick II of Prussia had it right when he proclaimed, “Every man should seek religious fulfillment in his own fashion.”



The Boykin revelation should be a trigger to reign in religious fanatics at all levels of our government, without curtailing the freedom to worship. The men and women, who put their lives on their line for our great Constitution and their families, should be able to believe as they wish, even if it means worshipping ancestral spirits.



Believing in something bigger than oneself is a good thing. And as Martin Luther once proclaimed, God isn’t something to be feared. God is good and loves all humans, no matter what color, religion, gender or national origin.



Contributing Editor Lt. Col. (U.S. Army, ret.) Ralf W. Zimmermann is a decorated Desert Storm veteran and former tank battalion commander. Since his retirement, his columns have regularly appeared in Army Times and other publications. His recent novel, “Brotherhood of Iron,” deals with the German soldier in World War II. It is directly available from www.iUniverse.com and through most major book dealers. Zimm can be reached at r6zimm@earthlink.net or via his website at www.home.earthlink.net/~r6zimm.

http://www.sftt.org/cgi-bin/csNews/csNews.cgi?database=DefenseWatch.db&command=viewone&op=t&id=245&rnd=729.0239907816623


Sempers,

Roger
:marine: