ZONA
12-15-2009, 01:57 PM
A very popular chain email is going around right now trying to already plant the seeds of doubt in the voters minds regarding Obama. It's called "I am honored to do this". Well most people just open their mail, read it and then delete it and very few of us actually decided to research the information to find out just what the facts are.
In politics, it's never to early to try and start chipping away at your competitors image. With emails like this, over the years, that's what they try to do. This particular email tries to imply that the ACLU (and the new administration) has filed a suit trying to get the military to remove the cross shaped headstone from the fallen soldiers graves and to also try and remove prayer from the military. Normally I don't care too much about these kinds of emails. I usually just reply back to all and provide the truth but on this one I felt I needed to come here and make a post about it. It's one thing to fabricate truth about certain things but to use our dead fallen soldiers as the theme is simply nauseating.
You can find out more about this chain email at urbanlegends.com
So, below is the email going around (without the pictures attached) and just below that is the list of facts on why this email is false.
I AM HONORED TO DO THIS!!
Did you know that the ACLU has filed a suit to have all military cross-shaped headstones removed and another suit to end prayer from the military completely. They're making great progress. The Navy Chaplains can no longer mention Jesus' name in prayer thanks to the wretched ACLU and our new administration.
The following information can be found at urbanlegends.com
http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/religion/a/i_am_honored_to_do_this.htm
Analysis: This message repeats falsehoods contained or implied in previous forwarded emails, plus adds a new one to the mix. Let's take them one by one:
Has the ACLU filed a lawsuit to remove all crosses from military gravesites?
No. As I noted in my coverage of a 2003-vintage rumor alleging the same thing, the ACLU's official position is actually the opposite:
The ACLU has long argued that veterans and their families should be free to choose religious symbols on military headstones — whether Crosses, Stars of David, Pentacles, or other symbols — and that the government should not be permitted to restrict such religious expression in federal cemeteries.
Has the ACLU filed a lawsuit to 'end prayer from the military completely'?
No, as affirmed in this quote from Deborah A. Jeon, Legal Director for the ACLU of Maryland:
Members of the military have a right to pray or not pray as they personally see fit, and that right is protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution. It is one of the fundamental rights they put their lives on the line to defend in service to their country.
Is it true that Navy chaplains can no longer mention Jesus' name in prayer due to actions of the ACLU and/or the Obama administration?
No. No such prohibition has been proposed or enacted. Confusion on this issue may be linked to a stand the ACLU has taken against compulsory prayer in the military, or to a 2005 incident in which Navy chaplain Gordon Klingenschmitt claimed he was being censored by his superiors "because I pray in Jesus' name." Klingenschmitt ran afoul of Navy rules requiring that prayers delivered in settings other than religious ceremonies (namely secular public events) be non-denomenational.
In politics, it's never to early to try and start chipping away at your competitors image. With emails like this, over the years, that's what they try to do. This particular email tries to imply that the ACLU (and the new administration) has filed a suit trying to get the military to remove the cross shaped headstone from the fallen soldiers graves and to also try and remove prayer from the military. Normally I don't care too much about these kinds of emails. I usually just reply back to all and provide the truth but on this one I felt I needed to come here and make a post about it. It's one thing to fabricate truth about certain things but to use our dead fallen soldiers as the theme is simply nauseating.
You can find out more about this chain email at urbanlegends.com
So, below is the email going around (without the pictures attached) and just below that is the list of facts on why this email is false.
I AM HONORED TO DO THIS!!
Did you know that the ACLU has filed a suit to have all military cross-shaped headstones removed and another suit to end prayer from the military completely. They're making great progress. The Navy Chaplains can no longer mention Jesus' name in prayer thanks to the wretched ACLU and our new administration.
The following information can be found at urbanlegends.com
http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/religion/a/i_am_honored_to_do_this.htm
Analysis: This message repeats falsehoods contained or implied in previous forwarded emails, plus adds a new one to the mix. Let's take them one by one:
Has the ACLU filed a lawsuit to remove all crosses from military gravesites?
No. As I noted in my coverage of a 2003-vintage rumor alleging the same thing, the ACLU's official position is actually the opposite:
The ACLU has long argued that veterans and their families should be free to choose religious symbols on military headstones — whether Crosses, Stars of David, Pentacles, or other symbols — and that the government should not be permitted to restrict such religious expression in federal cemeteries.
Has the ACLU filed a lawsuit to 'end prayer from the military completely'?
No, as affirmed in this quote from Deborah A. Jeon, Legal Director for the ACLU of Maryland:
Members of the military have a right to pray or not pray as they personally see fit, and that right is protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution. It is one of the fundamental rights they put their lives on the line to defend in service to their country.
Is it true that Navy chaplains can no longer mention Jesus' name in prayer due to actions of the ACLU and/or the Obama administration?
No. No such prohibition has been proposed or enacted. Confusion on this issue may be linked to a stand the ACLU has taken against compulsory prayer in the military, or to a 2005 incident in which Navy chaplain Gordon Klingenschmitt claimed he was being censored by his superiors "because I pray in Jesus' name." Klingenschmitt ran afoul of Navy rules requiring that prayers delivered in settings other than religious ceremonies (namely secular public events) be non-denomenational.