Friends of Padre Steve’s World,
Another day goes by and I finally hit a wall yesterday. It was physically, spiritually, emotionally, and intellectually draining. This morning my left leg was completely locked up, though later in the day it loosened up.
By the end of Wednesday I had dealt with legal, constitutional, and ministerial issues in the Chaplain Corps, cared for the emotional and physical needs of several sailors, and helped a friend going through I difficult time. I was out from 5:30 AM until 8:30 PM. Likewise between walking and swimming I had done 9.6 miles., the most I have done since the fall that injured both of my knees last August.
I was so tired that I couldn’t out of bed. But, tomorrow is another day. I will be getting up early, doing a lot of walking, going to the Physical Therapy Doctor and then swimming before going back to work to see what has shat in my email inbox and taking care of administrative duties.
Theodore Roosevelt, the Republican that modern Republicans love to hate said: “I am an American; free born and free bred, where I acknowledge no man as my superior, except for his own worth, or as my inferior, except for his own demerit.”
After Trump’s announcement in which he said that he was going to bar transgender men and women from military service, including combat vets, I am fighting back in every legal way that I can as an active duty officer. Thankfully I am senior enough that I don’t have to deal with the threats that a number of junior Army chaplain friends are dealing with from their fundamentalist Christian supervisory chaplains.
I cannot believe who quickly these people will throw fellow servicemen and women under the bus for a President who despises them and what they believe all because he hates LGBTQ people more than them.
Likewise, I have been fighting against potential budget cuts that could affect the religious liberties of thousands of Navy personnel and their families.
I am getting ready to retire next spring. It is a mandatory retired based on my age and rank. I will have served 38 years and seven months of service in peace and war so I don’t have to serve under what if left unchecked will become a fascist dictatorship, in large part due to fundamentalist Christians, so I guess that it the right time, even though I will always protect the religious liberties of people that I might have significant disagreement. That being said, I will never surrender my honor to willingly prostitute myself to a regime that rejects the rule of law, the Constitution, and the principles of the Declaration of Independence that so many people have fought to preserve. Nor will I stop fighting for the religious rights of others which are threatened by budget cuts in the age of a exponentially growing defense budget, even the rights of people who I profoundly oppose.
This is about the Constitution, and a Supreme Court Decision (Katkoff v. Marsh 1985) that matter far more than me or my religious opinion, which happen to mirror those of the great Virginia Baptist, John Leland who wrote:
“Is conformity of sentiments in matters of religion essential to the happiness of civil government? Not at all. Government has no more to do with the religious opinions of men than it has with the principles of mathematics. Let every man speak freely without fear–maintain the principles that he believes–worship according to his own faith, either one God, three Gods, no God, or twenty Gods; and let government protect him in so doing, i.e., see that he meets with no personal abuse or loss of property for his religious opinions. Instead of discouraging him with proscriptions, fines, confiscation or death, let him be encouraged, as a free man, to bring forth his arguments and maintain his points with all boldness; then if his doctrine is false it will be confuted, and if it is true (though ever so novel) let others credit it. When every man has this liberty what can he wish for more? A liberal man asks for nothing more of government.”
This will have to suffice for now. But for me the issue is liberty for all. As Robert Ingersoll, a Civil War hero and prominent atheist said: “This is my doctrine: Give every other human being every right you claim for yourself.” If you can’t do then don’t claim to support the Constitution or revere the Declaration of Independence, because you are simply a liar. Enough said.
Until tomorrow,
Peace,
Padre Steve+
The Inglorius Padre Steve's World 