Gary L. Bauer
AMERICAN VALUES
Yesterday we reported on the outrageous briefing an Army Reserve unit in Pennsylvania received that labeled "Evangelical Christianity" and "Catholicism" as examples of "extremism." The Army said it was an "isolated incident." Sadly, it isn't.
Today there is news that Army Lt. Col. Jack Rich of Fort Campbell, Kentucky, sent an email warning of behaviors inconsistent with "Army Values" and warning about various groups that "do not share our Army Values."
Among those groups listed in his email were neo-Nazis and the KKK. So far so good. But also included were pro-family Christian organizations like the Family Research Council and the American Family Association.
As many of our readers know, I served as president of the Family Research Council after leaving the Reagan White House. It is a tremendous organization that should never be included with the likes of the KKK. The same goes for our good friends at the American Family Association.
Sadly, this is more evidence that left-wing activists who equate traditional Biblical values with bigotry and extremism have burrowed their way into the government bureaucracy and are even moving up the ranks of Obama's military.
Let me venture a guess as to why this is happening. It is the result of repealing the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. As the administration began to demand tolerance for alternative lifestyles, the word quickly went out from the top that tolerance had its limits. Lieutenant General Thomas Bostick, then the Army's deputy chief of staff in charge of personnel, said, "These people opposing this new policy will need to get with the program, and if they can't, they need to get out."
Just 18 months after the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," we have gone from tolerance for homosexuals serving in the military to intolerance for men and women of faith serving in the military.
Once again, I must urge pastors and those in elected office to speak up against this assault on religious liberty. There is no equality or tolerance in equating Christian pro-family ministries with the KKK. It is blatant anti-religious bigotry that seeks to force men and women of faith into the closet.
Yesterday we reported on the outrageous briefing an Army Reserve unit in Pennsylvania received that labeled "Evangelical Christianity" and "Catholicism" as examples of "extremism." The Army said it was an "isolated incident." Sadly, it isn't.
Today there is news that Army Lt. Col. Jack Rich of Fort Campbell, Kentucky, sent an email warning of behaviors inconsistent with "Army Values" and warning about various groups that "do not share our Army Values."
Among those groups listed in his email were neo-Nazis and the KKK. So far so good. But also included were pro-family Christian organizations like the Family Research Council and the American Family Association.
As many of our readers know, I served as president of the Family Research Council after leaving the Reagan White House. It is a tremendous organization that should never be included with the likes of the KKK. The same goes for our good friends at the American Family Association.
Sadly, this is more evidence that left-wing activists who equate traditional Biblical values with bigotry and extremism have burrowed their way into the government bureaucracy and are even moving up the ranks of Obama's military.
Let me venture a guess as to why this is happening. It is the result of repealing the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. As the administration began to demand tolerance for alternative lifestyles, the word quickly went out from the top that tolerance had its limits. Lieutenant General Thomas Bostick, then the Army's deputy chief of staff in charge of personnel, said, "These people opposing this new policy will need to get with the program, and if they can't, they need to get out."
Just 18 months after the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," we have gone from tolerance for homosexuals serving in the military to intolerance for men and women of faith serving in the military.
Once again, I must urge pastors and those in elected office to speak up against this assault on religious liberty. There is no equality or tolerance in equating Christian pro-family ministries with the KKK. It is blatant anti-religious bigotry that seeks to force men and women of faith into the closet.
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