President snubs War Widow
Americans United (for seperation of Church and State)
For your information (for those of us who are actually NOT American!)
Americans United is a religious liberty watchdog group based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1947, the organization educates Americans about the importance of church-state separation in safeguarding religious freedom.
Americans United Protests Presidential Snub Of Wiccan War Widow
Americans United for Separation of Church and State today blasted President George W. Bush for shunning a war widow who successfully challenged the administration’s refusal to allow the use of the Wiccan symbol of faith on government-issued grave markers.
On Tuesday, following an address to the American Legion’s national convention in Reno, Bush met with northern Nevada family members of soldiers who have perished in combat. Roberta Stewart, whose husband, Sgt. Patrick Stewart was killed in combat in Afghanistan, was not invited, even though other relatives of Sgt. Stewart were.
According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Sgt. Stewart’s parents and brother were invited to the brief, private meeting with the president. So was the widow of one of the other National Guardsmen killed with Sgt. Stewart when their Chinook helicopter was shot down.
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OK, this is a complex issue, and Bush is a man of deep Christian faith who has no time at all for those who are perceived as antithetical to the Christian position. But for a nation that believes fairly intensely in the separation of Church & State, he is not a good example of the President upholding both the letter and the spirit of the Constitution.
Now I am of the opinion that you should speak up about things you believe are wrong, but in order to force someone to comply to your moral code there needs to be more, in a society that proclaims equality & justice for all, than just 'My Holy Book is Better than Your Holy Book'.
Ideally a shared moral stance can be found: Most religions feel that, in general terms, murder is bad for example. Common ground. There are a lot of such things.
Sigh. It is late & I want to make a coherent post. Coherence fading so I shall just leave it here, although it is worth noting that I am being a bit cheeky in that I am a Brit, not American.
Comments
I would imagine that if you really wanted to have the seperation of Church and State, all religous symbols would be banned from the goverment issued tombstones entirely.... either that or just allow anything. Allowing anything could get ridiculous.
So I believe that a list of acceptable symbols of religion (state defined religions according to tax code) is the practical answer and that is exactly the status quo. As "new" religions emerge, they have to go through the validation process... and that process is often times controversial.
As for who the President meets with or doesn't meet with, that is his prerogative based on many factors, personal, political and safety to name a few. In this case, I think he was in a no win situation.... and I think that he took the course of least resistance. He doesn't always do that !
I think part of the problem is that the request for the Wiccan pentacle to be added to the list has taken over 9 years, and took a lawsuit to get, while in the mean time other symbols have been added without fuss. It didn't take a lawsuit to add the symbol for Eckinakar or Seicho-No-Ie.
DVA Available Emblems of Belief for Placement on Government Headstones and Markers
Lawsuit / Petition? Cached version
Regarding the Presidential perogative in who he meets ~ I agree he was in a no-win situation, but to meet & honour one widow, and not another, a mother not a wife is.... rude. But then I confess I have little respect for him, and am obviously biased *shrug*
The President not meeting with her may appear rude.. and very well may be rude, but I imagine there was more involved. But who knows, this administration hasn't been know for making great decisions! And is it possible that "rude" may sometimes be the best choice? I'm still thinking about that one ;>)