"SO HELP ME GOD!" LOVE IS THE ANSWER, LOVE WILL FIND A WAY . . . THE CREECH AIR FORCE BASE, NEVADA, WILL EXCLUDE AIRMAN, A KNOWN ATHEIST, FROM MILITARY SERVICE, REGARDLESS OF HIS QUALIFICATIONS, UNLESS HE SWEARS AND OATH TO GOD; HE HAS AGREED TO DEFEND THE CONSTITUTION FROM BOTH FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC ENEMIES, HAS SWORN WITH ALLEGIANCE TO OBEY THOSE PRINCIPLES, AND TO FOLLOW THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, BUT HE REFUSES TO SIGN A WRITTEN OATH, ENDING WITH "SO HELP ME GOD." IF THE OATH IS WITHIN THE LETTER AND SPIRIT OF THE CONSTITUTION, IT IS CONSTITUTIONAL, AND HIS DISBELIEF IN GOD, DOES NOT DIMINISH HIS SERVICE TO THE COUNTRY, THE PRINCIPLES OF ALLEGIANCE, AND TO WHOM HE SERVES, THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA . . . AS AMERICANS WE HAVE BOTH FREEDOM OF RELIGION & FREEDOM FROM RELIGION, THAT IS OUR RIGHT. PASTOR REV. STEPHEN JOHNSON'S MESSAGE OF NOT ONLY RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE IS NEEDED, BUT RESPECT FOR DIFFERENCES IN RELIGIOUS ATTITUDES A WELL! THIS DOES NOT REPRESENT THE PENTAGON'S POSITION, NOR THAT OF THE NAVY OR ARMY, WITH DIFFERENT OATHS, THANK GOODNESS! CAN'T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG?

So Help Me God, This Pisses Me Off!

Obviously, the plain language of the 1st, 4th, 5th, 8th, 9th and 14th amendments are at issue here, in addition to the religious test oath clause, United States Constitution, Article VI, [3], stating that the Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution, but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.  I think that clause is dead center, spot, on . . . this young airman, who is every bit as entitled to he beliefs and his superior officers are to their beliefs, can object to that portion of the oath the Air Force asks them to take.

Substantive Due Process v. Procedural Due Process

It is kind of like the letter of the law, juxtaposed, up against the spirit of the law, and of the Supreme Law of the Land, I might remind the Air Force brass asses, running the show down in Nevada, of all places, kind of like calling the kettle black, don't you think, but you guys at Creeh Air Force Base, are not only in violation of Article VI, [2], but subjecting yourselves to a possible, Title 42, Section 1983, civil right suit, for violating federal statutory and constitutional civil rights, while officers in the Air Force, acting under color of law, for discriminating against this young man's freedom, liberty, and right, to refrain, from finishing the oath, that by all intents and purposes, fulfills, the intent of the military, to serve, protect and defend the U.S. Constitution, not God!  And I am sure, that God, will help this young man, if he were to see battle, regardless of his believe or not, I always error on the side of safety.

The 5th and 14th amendments, give teeth to the 1st amendment, with no established religion, and freedom to practice as you please, which is a liberty interest, protected by due process and equal protection . . . he has every right to serve, going to swearing to the core of the oath, while refraining from the last phrase or clause . . . 

SUBSTANTIVE DUE PROCESS--RIGHTS BASED

Substantive due process, deals with rights, in capsuled in those rights, are all the rights, both enumerated, and not enumerated, or written, such as the 9th amendment, right to privacy, and other rights, not specifically listed, that would be also, considered, inalienable rights, which the government, in its purest form is there to protect, not violate!  In substance, this airman, is willing to do all that he is required to do, defending the Constitution, obeying it's principles, and following the President of the United States, what more, by the way of military service, do you want from this kid, he is willing to put on that uniform, to the risk of both body, life and limb, and make the ultimate sacrifice in serving his country!  He has not more to give . . . that is about a great a sacrifice as anyone, whether martyr or church or state, there is no greater, than to lay your life down, and he has agreed to do that, when, many, religious or not, would never, never, never do, nor have the guts to do!  And in that we honor him!  

He is very much within the spirit of the oath . . .

PROCEDURAL DUE PROCESS--PROCESS OR PROCEDURE BASED

Procedural due process, is that, the procedure that one needs to go through to become an airman, in the United States Air Force; has he gone through boot camp, passed the physical exam, followed orders, worthy in all ways to serve his country, of sound mind, able to consent, or being old enough, and willing to agree to the guts of the oath, then he is able to serve, and the end of the oath is of no consequence, and really doesn't change a whole, hell of a lot, nor effect his loyalty and ability to serve.  

Now, perhaps, there is more to the story, facts that we are not getting, personality conflicts, assignment issues, other areas of discrimination besides religious, like race, age, sex, creed, sexual orientation, that the brass asses, are not man or woman enough to admit, but, this, sure as hell is not a way to do it, and all of the just listed possibilities, put the airman, or woman in a suspect class, protected by the 14th amendment, protecting the minority, as atheists are, from the majority, or Christians.  There is not need to bring a law suit, perhaps, U.S. Attorney General, Eric Holder, can issue a letter, admonishing the brass, that their asses are going to get kicked, if this thing goes to court, with the judges, specifically, sworn to uphold the law, the Constitution, as mentioned in the previous sections, under the same Article, [2], along with all the others, that work together to protect the airman/woman from forcing them to finish the oath, that is not even the policy of your bosses, the Joint Chief of Staff at the Pentagon!  Nor followed by the other branches of equal merit and influence!

Creech Air Force Base is like a one legged dog, resting on, really, not even a substantial part of the oath, to deny this person entrance into the military . . . numbers count, he has three on his side! Make your decisions on happiness, not ego, make up, no big deal, we are where we are, just go forward, and let him/her serve, without a fucking law suit, that is why we have copies of the U.S. Constitution available, why we have legal counsel, in all branches of the military, and a U.S. attorney's office, to answer those type of questions for all of us.  Good luck airmen and thanks for your service, one and all!

Tolerance, Tolerance, Tolerance!

Remember, we live in a diverse country, with many beliefs, both religiously and not religiously, through culture, background, social status, and all that good stuff, that makes us unique, from most countries on earth, and all the better for it.  Just this morning at the Central United Methodist Church, 518 West Third Avenue, Spokane, WA, 509.838.1431, with services, starting at 10:00 a.m., next week is a pot luck, so bring something and come join us . . . but, the great family who performs each Sunday to our delight, being colorful, musical, entertaining, and spiritual, in their Boatswain language, with church as 5:00 p.m., for any one who wants to join, but this morning, while the parents were performing, a young child ran by me, wearing a shirt, made of red, white and blue, with stars and stripes, on it, as my eyes filled up with tears of joy, that this brave family, who are enriching us, this morning at church, for whatever reasons, risked danger, fear, prejudice, in search of a better life for their beautiful family, thank you God, they are so cool!

Reverend Steve Johnson's Seminary Experience

While the Pastor of this church, was going to seminary, a school to become pastor's, ministers, clergy of, I guess any denomination, with students from around the world, America, Europe, the Islanders, like Somalia and Tonga, Asia, and so forth, but one Palm Friday, one of his fellow students, came from a religion, that basically, reverenced the day, in quiet and alone, while his fellow Islander, looked at the day as a celebration, a party, fun for all, throwing a pig in the ground and roasting it.  This friend found that to be irreverent, not respecting the holiness of the day, leading into the commemoration of the Savior, Christ Jesus, death and resurrection.  Pastor Steve, just a student himself, told this friend, to just chill out, and let them honor the day in their fashion and he could continue to quietly and prayerfully spend the day, the way he always had, in what way did their worship effect his, or prohibit him from worshiping the way he wanted to.  Well?

And, it does not, and I can tell you which one, I think would be the most fun to attend, and I would amend my worship, in a New York second, the party fits my personality, much better than just sitting around being reverent, which is fine too.  I was raised Mormon, and I never knew what Palm Friday was, nor did we ever celebrate it, well, we probably were closer to the Samoans, and celebrated, we always, left the cold in northern Utah, and headed south, so St. George, and spent the day, hiking up in Zion, having a big, extended family picnic, playing Canasta with aunts and uncles, cousins, and all, generally, spending the weekend, partying!

There are a lot of Islanders in the Mormon Church, most converts, and they are family oriented, fun loving, love to eat and party, with a homeland of sunshine, they have very sunny personalities, so the pig roast is a common occasion with them, and i dig it.  It would seem to me, that the important, and substantive part of their practices, is the fact that they were recognizing the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, with the substantive rights of salvation, justification, forgiveness, life after death, and the celebration of good over evil, life over death!  There is a great song, that is a female artist, who gets a tattoo, breaks her father's heart, but bets, that she could sit down with Jesus, drink some wine, and they would get along just fine!

We should all just get along fine too!