With Liberty and Justice for All?

1540 Words4 Pages

There is an old saying “no matter how flat the pancake, there is always two sides”. After reading the essay written by Michael Kinsley titled “The Religious Superiority Complex”, I decided to further investigate General Boykin's comments and actions, to examine why our highly-decorated combat veteran was under attack. My skepticism about the article pressured me into probing his conduct further. I am conscious enough to know mainstream media can be one-sided and vow to collect verifiable evidence before passing or making a judgment. Could it be the General's comments were taken out of context? Did the General misuse his authoritative role? And finally, did the General disregard the establishment clause of the First Amendment, “separation of church and state”, to preach his ideological beliefs or was he exercising his Constitutional Rights? There's no question that Lieutenant General William Boykin spoke, on separate occasions and while wearing his decorated military uniform, during church services. Kinsley quoted the General as saying, “The enemy is a guy called Satan”. It's undisputed that the General made this comment, however; his speech was dissected in the media and in Kinsley's article. The General was quoted as saying: “We as Americans, we as Christians, need to understand that that's not the enemy that America's up against. In fact, the enemy that we're up against is called the principality of darkness, he's called Satan. We are in fact in a spiritual battle, ladies and gentlemen, more than we are in a physical battle” (Strand, 2003). Did I read that correctly? The United States of America, the strong, the moral, the just, and where opportunity abounds for anyone willing to work for the American dream...a... ... middle of paper ... ...is is psychological terrorism. This is not suggesting that the security of our county is not necessary. It is merely pointing out how the government uses terrorism to try and control what is not theirs to control. With liberty and justice for all...as long as you are a Christian. References Ali, Brother. The Undisputed Truth Uncle Sam Goddamn www.brotherali.com Connett, Carl (2002, January). Operation Enduring Freedom: Why a Higher Rate of Civilian Bombing Casualties Cornell University Law School. http://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/ Greenhouse, Linda (2008, June 17). Court to Hear Challenge from Muslims held after 9/11 The New York Times Global Security. www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/enduring-freedom.htm Strand, Paul (2003, October 30). The Truth about General Boykin's Comments on Islam www.freerepublic.com

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