4 ms·

Today, it's hilariously illegal to put this kind of thing in an official employee communication. No government agency would even dream it. Even in the 1960s,

Today, it's hilariously illegal to put this kind of thing in an official employee communication. No government agency would even dream it. Even in the 1960s, that kind of overtly religious appeal would have been very, VERY controversial. This kind of material _never_ appeared in military stuff, and I am very surprised to see it in NSA publications.

closeparen 8y ago
It was the Red Scare. We added “under God” to the pledge of allegiance on the theory that undercover commies would explode if they tried to say it. I’m not surprised.
user982 8y ago
> Even in the 1960s, that kind of overtly religious appeal would have been very, VERY controversial. This kind of material _never_ appeared in military stuff... The Air Force barred an airman from reenlisting because he would not say "so help me God" in his oath, in 2014.[0] [0]: https://www.yahoo.com/news/atheist-must-swear-god-leave-us-air-force-232153866.html https://www.yahoo.com/news/atheist-must-swear-god-leave-us-a...
- TheAdamAndChe 8y ago
  To be fair, the military doesn't want to accept people who would disobey a direct order over something so petty. If they aren't mature enough to say "so help me God" and move on, they don't want them.
  - porphyrogene 8y ago
    Insisting that the federal government obey by the Constitution is petty? For the government to enforce any religion on any level is strictly forbidden and the interpretation is even broader than that. It's the very first thing in the Bill of Rights.
    - lainga 8y ago
      "I'm not firing until this war has been authorized by Congress, sir!"
      - user982 8y ago
        That this is a punchline is the problem.
twic 8y ago
There have been some stories about evangelical christians infiltrating military academies and preying on the students: https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/25/us/25academies.html https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/25/us/25academies.html The response illustrates that, as you say, it is clearly against the rules. But it is, nonetheless, happening.

closeparen 8y ago

It was the Red Scare. We added “under God” to the pledge of allegiance on the theory that undercover commies would explode if they tried to say it. I’m not surprised.

user982 8y ago

> Even in the 1960s, that kind of overtly religious appeal would have been very, VERY controversial. This kind of material _never_ appeared in military stuff... The Air Force barred an airman from reenlisting because he would not say "so help me God" in his oath, in 2014.[0] [0]: https://www.yahoo.com/news/atheist-must-swear-god-leave-us-air-force-232153866.html https://www.yahoo.com/news/atheist-must-swear-god-leave-us-a...

TheAdamAndChe 8y ago
To be fair, the military doesn't want to accept people who would disobey a direct order over something so petty. If they aren't mature enough to say "so help me God" and move on, they don't want them.
- porphyrogene 8y ago
  Insisting that the federal government obey by the Constitution is petty? For the government to enforce any religion on any level is strictly forbidden and the interpretation is even broader than that. It's the very first thing in the Bill of Rights.
  - lainga 8y ago
    "I'm not firing until this war has been authorized by Congress, sir!"
    - user982 8y ago
      That this is a punchline is the problem.

twic 8y ago

There have been some stories about evangelical christians infiltrating military academies and preying on the students: https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/25/us/25academies.html https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/25/us/25academies.html The response illustrates that, as you say, it is clearly against the rules. But it is, nonetheless, happening.