Complaints about religious content have led to:?

Question

The U.S. government has banned the flag-folding recitations at all 125 national cemeteries. The banning came as the result of one complaint. The situation is similar to that in which one person removed prayer from schools.
This article from The Associated Press explains the situation:
Complaints about religious content have led to a ban on flag-folding recitations by Veterans Administration employees and volunteers at all national cemeteries.
At thousands of military burials, VA volunteers have folded the American flag 13 times and recited the significance of each fold to survivors. The 11th fold glorifies "the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” The 12th glorifies "God the Father, the Son and Holy Ghost."
Citing a need for uniformity, the National Cemetery Administration has prohibited unpaid VA volunteers as well as employees from conducting the recital at all 125 national cemeteries.

Your thoughts?

Answer 1

Well since I am a military member; information such as this sickens me. The United States Flag doesn't represent God and the United States most certainly doesn't represent Him. The flag of the U.S. represents freedom and nothing more; just because the United States was founded by Judo-Christians and the "separation of church and state" was inspired by their beliefs in the Bible, doesn't mean that it is one nation under God, because it is not. The flag represents what our fore fathers believed and they believed that due to their freedom and well earned right to.

Men and Women have DIED so that others can be free; and all we can do is bicker and argue over how that freedom be used. It all makes me sick; that my friends and brothers who I sweat and bled next to in combat are now "being honored" in the petty disputes over how they should be honored. Everyone wants their fair share of freedom; yet many men and women have sacrificed their freedoms and lives so that citizens of the United States could whine for accommodation. Enjoy what you have been given now; death is inevitable and inescapable. It doesn't make sense to me, but then again maybe I'm just a deluded, brainwashed, ignorant combat veteran who is blind to reality. Who knows.

Answer 2

I think it never should have been a part of the flag ceremony to start with.
I do not think it was ever good to turn the Flag, Pledge of Allegiance or the Currency into the Religious Relics of one chosen religious sect.

I find the idea of the Flag being used to honour any religion's doctrines simply appalling.
That is the Flag of the Nation.
It is NOT a rag for the religious to smear their faiths on.

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The thing for those talking about individual choice is that the Flag Ceremony Conducted by officers of the Governments Armed Forces is an official statement of religious belief by the State.
Note that the reason for restricting the volunteers from doing it was to keep a uniform code of practise.

Answer 3

in the experience that they are doing it lower than the auspices of the federal authorities, invocation of the Judeo-Christian God is beside the point. The recitation is unofficial and looks NOWHERE contained in the Flag Code. The 13 folds don't have any professional magnitude; that change into made up lengthy after someone talked about that it takes 13 folds to excellent positioned the flag into the triangular "cased" type. Take it from someone who has folded and presented the colors for more suitable than one comrade-in-palms. MSgt, USAF (Retired) P.S. to shown Atheist below: ok, i'm open-minded too. If the subsequent of relations individuals (NOK) requests it and the VA workers or volunteers are thoroughly loose to decline (it should be unjust to coerce someone into making a Judeo-Christian pronouncement as a condition of their employment/volunteerism), I honestly don't have any objection to it being executed and any offended attendees can bypass whistle. it should be analogous to a protection stress chaplain presiding over a service.

Answer 4

I think it would make more sense to simply change the symbolic significance of the 11th and 12th folds. Banning the flag-folding recitation seems extreme to me.

Answer 5

Well it seems justified: the 11th fold only applies to those practicing Abrahamic religions, and the 12th fold only applies to Christians. But why cant they just let the family decide?

Answer 6

I find it appropriate.

A lot of veterans don't worship the God of Abraham.
Why should their death ceremonies be marred by people performing an Abrahamic rite over them?
Seems disrespectful to the slain soldier if they were pagan.

Answer 7

That is how this world has become. Everyone is offended about everything. And someone can sue anyone for just about anything these days. I think in this case it should be up to the family if they want it or not. Not up to that one person that is offended. As the old saying goes,"you can please some of the people some of the time, but you can't please all of the people all of the time."

Answer 8

Absolutely appropriate. The government should not be sponsoring prayer or promoting any religion, ceremonial or otherwise. If a vet's FAMILY and FRIENDS want to pray privately, that is fine.

Answer 9

if the family wants it done then it should be done...their choice.

it shouldn't just be an automatic thing, but to ban it is absurd.

sometimes we go too far to placate one individual or group.

just my thoughts.

Answer 10

I wonder if the complainer was a Vet.