I’ve made it pretty clear, both in this blog and in my personal life, that I am not a religious person. In fact, I’ve ranted against the negative efforts of some faiths on scientific and medical progress. However, I will always support a person’s right to have faith in whatever it is that gives them comfort. I saw something today that raised that particular set of hackles.
Nevada National Guard Sergeant Patrick Stewart was killed when his Chinook helicopter was shot down in Afghanistan in September. Sergeant Stewart’s sacrifice earns him the right to be remembered on the memorial wall at the Northern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Fernley, Nevada. Typically, the placard bearing the name of the veteran also bears the symbol of his faith.
Sergeant Stewart and his widow Roberta are followers of Wicca. Unfortunately, the Department Of Veteran Affairs doesn’t recognize Wiccan symbols for use in their cemeteries.
Here is a list of the symbols they will allow. Note the symbols for Eckankar, the “humanist emblem of spirit,” and even atheism (didn’t know atheists were that organized.) Why isn’t Wicca, which has been established by several court decisions to be a valid religion under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, recognized by the Department of Veteran Affairs?
Fight for your country… die so that others might enjoy freedom… but you won’t be memorialized in a way that befits the faith your country’s freedoms enable you to embrace.
That’s deeply offensive to me. I hope the VA fixes this, and soon.
In the mean time, I’d like to propose to the blogosphere that we memorialize Sgt. Stewart and the other Wiccans who have died in the line of duty ourselves. Let the World Wide Web be their memorial, until VA does the right thing. I’ve created an image, suitable for placement on your web sites. I recommend linking the image either to the BoingBoing post from Xeni Jardin, the Las Vegas Review-Journal article that first broke the story, or better still, the Department of Veteran Affairs Contact Page, where you can let the VA know your feelings on this issue.
Sgt. Stewart deserves to be remembered.
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I am not a person of faith, but I understand why many are. It bothers me that this man’s faith isn’t displayed with others’. Welcome to the New America.
I noticed you have a blog yourself, Chornbe… how about throwing the memorial graphic up on your site, to draw attention to this injustice? If enough people get viral on this issue, it might do something!
Thanks, very much!
I was pretty pissed when I recently learned about the VA’s twisted grave marker-for-only-select-religions policy myself. I was really shocked, since I know that Wicca has been recognized and discussed in the Military Chaplian’s Guide, including religious preferences for funerals and burials. Funny that the VA seems to keep this little known policy covert to such an extent that the disparity in the policy is not known until the service man/woman is deceased and can’t do anything about it then! What a way to say “Thanks for serving your country”.
Religious freedom in America has got to mean something more than the freedom of Christianity to dominate or ignore all else. Whether the imbalance is in the arena of faith based funding allotments or the simple respectful memorium of a fallen soldier, all American’s (regardless of faith or lack thereof) deserve equal respect and fair treatment – not just an administration’s choosen few!