The Missing Man display at the Sioux Falls VA initially featured an oversized Bible, disrespecting the sacrifices of countless non-Christian servicemembers since the Revolutionary War. Image from: Military Religious Freedom Foundation
You would think a story this big that someone in our local media or even the local ACLU would be all over this;
The VA hospital in Sioux Falls, South Dakota has a serious problem. Not with health-care—they’re one of the best in the nation—but with the US Constitution that the veterans they serve risked their lives to defend. And with the veterans whose rights they are trampling on. And the dead they are disrespecting.
A POW/MIA Missing Man display in the main lobby features a Christian Bible, despite a slew of complaints which the VA has not simply ignored, but made a mockery of, by replacing one Bible with another, thus pretending to “resolve your concerns,†in an email to the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, which is representing 21 VA patients who have contacted them with complaints.
As is normally the case, the majority of MRFF’s clients are Christian, while the totality includes a wide variety of faiths, as well as non-believers.
“Of the 21, 14 are Christians—so two thirds are Roman Catholic or Protestants,†MRFF founder and President Mikey Weinstein told Crooks and Liars. “The other seven are Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, Native American and then atheist/agnostic.”
It reminds me of Steve, a veteran who shows up to city council meetings almost weekly and contends the VA has discriminated against him because he is atheist (among other things). We have to remember, many people who have fought for our country are of many different religious stripes or none at all. That is one thing that separates our country from others, religious freedom. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.