[Vision2020] Of, By & 4

[Paul Rumelhart]

Donovan Arnold wrote:
> "Refused a leadership position based
> solely on his beliefs" would be another.
>  
> That is OK with me. Most people are not leaders. Their ability to 
> relate to the group, understand the group, think like the group, and 
> be looked up to by the group is an important part of being the group 
> leader. I could accept a group leader of the basketball team, or at 
> work as an atheist. But not a person that was to lead the nation, or 
> to lead me to a potential death. I would not want to die in a fox hole 
> with an atheist, it would be a lonely death to me. My belief in God is 
> a big part of me, and how I think of what is right and wrong, and what 
> decisions I make. An Atheist rejects that part of me, and I just could 
> not follow someone that rejected such an important part of who I am as 
> a person. 

This is the military we are talking about.  Nowhere in my leadership 
classes at the Naval Academy do I remember being taught that you must 
conform to the beliefs of the men you lead to be effective.   This isn't 
a basketball game; if you refused an order by  a superior because they 
"rejected such an important part of who you are" by having beliefs 
outside of the scope of the job, I'd expect you to be disciplined.  It's 
been a number of years, maybe I slept through that lesson.

They should be choosing a leader based upon a large number of things, 
but religious belief (or lack thereof) is definitely not pertinent.  If 
you can't respect a leader because they don't share your faith, then 
*you* have a problem.

>  
> "He probably has bought into the fallacy that the US government is
> supposed to care about inequality, prejudice, and other such topics."
>  
> The military does care about those things, it defends them by 
> defending this nation. However, it does not operate on the principle. 
> Its mission is to protect the United States. It is not about equal 
> opportunity employment. It is about making decisions that are best for 
> the defense of this nation, that is the only real concern because 
> there would not even be a country without the military discriminating 
> against who it has a leaders and soldiers.

And I would hope like hell that they are looking at criteria other than 
what they put down for their religion when they signed up.  Perhaps such 
things as fitness, performance, confidence, experience, etc.  If someone 
gets promoted who does not measure up over other possible candidates 
merely because they have beliefs in common with the group, then they are 
weakening this country in the process.

Paul