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West Point cadet drops out to protest influence of fundamentalist Christianity
Blake Page was a senior at the United States Military Academy, slated to graduate in May. He was due to be commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Army, and once he left the military was all but guaranteed a hefty salary in the private sector. But now Page is walking away from West Piont. Why? Page is an open and unashamed atheist, and heads up West Point's Secular Student Alliance. However, after three-and-a-half years of what he describes as the failure of the academy brass to curb an outright illegal and unconstitutional level of Christian proselytizing. He writes about his decision in a scathing article at Huffington Post. While there are certainly numerous problems with the developmental program at West Point and all service academies, the tipping point of my decision to resign was the realization that countless officers here and throughout the military are guilty of blatantly violating the oaths they swore to defend the Constitution. These men and women are criminals, complicit in light of day defiance of the Uniform Code of Military Justice through unconstitutional proselytism, discrimination against the non-religious and establishing formal policies to reward, encourage and even at times require sectarian religious participation. These transgressions are nearly always committed in the name of fundamentalist evangelical Christianity. The sparse leaders who object to these egregious violations are relegated to the position of silent bystanders, because they understand all too well the potential ramifications of publically expressing their loyalty to the laws of our country. These are strong words that I do not use lightly, but after years of clear personal observation I am certain that they are true. In his official resignation letter, Blake describes several official and unofficial practices that he considers to be blatantly unconstitutional. For years, West Point has required cadets to take part in mandatory prayer and awards extra passes to plebes (freshmen) for attending retreats and chapel choirs. On an unofficial level, he reports that nonreligious cadets are openly looked down on, and that it's made pretty clear that taking part in religious activities will be rewarded. He describes a situation that appears to be only marginally better than that prevailing at the Air Force Academy, where numerous stories have come out about the outright hostility towards non-Christian cadets. Blake spoke last night with HuffPost Live from his barracks at West Point. Watch it here (sorry, it won't embed). Page is taking a calculated risk--according to NBC News, he might have to reimburse the Army as much as $300,000 for leaving early. But apparently Page believes it's a small price to pay in hopes of changing the environment at West Point. |
At HuffPo, Page writes that over the years, he's had several of his fellow cadets come to him with stories of harassment and bigotry. He's also had to pull teeth to get official recognition for the Secular Student Alliance, and even since winning recognition this year it's gotten so little funding that it's had to live a hand-to-mouth existence. While the highest levels of the academy leadership seem to understand there's a serious problem here and are willing to address it, Page thinks it's not nearly enough. In response to this utter nonsense, and much more, I initiated an Equal Opportunity investigation earlier this semester. I have received nothing but positive responses from the chain of command since then. The Commandant of Cadets himself, Brigadier General Theodore Martin, expressed what I perceived to be a sincere desire to see to it that these issues are dealt with quickly and severely. As happy as I was to hear his words and see his genuine concern expressed, his influence alone will not be enough to change the confidently bigoted culture of this sad place. The gulf between the intent of a General Officer and the execution of that intent by those in positions of immediate authority is massive in a complex bureaucracy entrenched in over 200 years of tradition. This chasm is widened by the rarity of people like General Martin who are willing to take on a proactive role in attempting to ensure that equality is established. The existence of decades of legal precedent and policies prohibiting this pervasive religious bigotry has not stopped it from happening in the past, and will most certainly not stop it from happening in the future so long as the many who oppose it remain too timid to stand up and be counted. For example, Page told NBC that the SSA has been repeatedly denied requests to leave campus on routine "rest and relaxation" outings. Page is making his move with the full backing of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation. MRFF president Mikey Weinstein thinks that Page is no less than a hero, on par with Rosa Parks. This charismatic Christian can only applaud Page for what he's doing here. After all, there are times that what the fundies are cooking up feels oppressive even to us reality-based Christians. Hopefully he won't be the first to take a stand. |
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