If ever Michael Weinstein needed proof that cadets could not be brainwashed by religious propaganda, it was his own presence at the Air Force Academy Wednesday afternoon that provided it.<\/p>\n
Weinstein was invited to speak at the Academy after he complained<\/a> about the speakers at February\u2019s Academy Assembly, the topic of which was \u201cDismantling Terrorism.\u201d<\/p>\n Unlike any of the previous speakers, however, Weinstein made no claim to have any authority on the ongoing war on terrorism.\u00a0 Instead, Weinstein has made a name for himself, and the \u201cfoundation\u201d he created, by repeatedly suing the US military for its alleged support of Christianity.\u00a0 Weinstein\u2019s Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF), formed just a few years ago, has sued the Air Force Academy for Christian favoritism (the suit was dismissed), more recently sued the Secretary of Defense on behalf of a Kansas soldier (notably, after running ads<\/a> seeking plaintiffs), and even threatened to add the Academy Assembly incident to his current lawsuit.<\/p>\n Weinstein did not even suggest he would offer a \u201cbalancing\u201d perspective on Islam or global terrorism, which is what other advocacy groups had called for.\u00a0 Instead, he said he wanted to \u201cdeprogram<\/a>\u201d the cadets from the content they heard in February.\u00a0 While the point of the Academy Assembly was terrorism, Weinstein very evidently made Christianity the topic of his MRFF symposium.<\/p>\n For years Weinstein said his issue (or \u201cwar\u201d) was not with Christianity but with a \u201csect.\u201d\u00a0 Now, however, he has dropped the adjectives and simply accuses all \u201cfundamentalist Christians\u201d of \u201ctreason.\u201d\u00a0 He has routinely equated American Christians with the Taliban and the Nazis.\u00a0 The Aspen Times<\/a> quoted Weinstein saying \u201cfundamentalist Christians\u201d were<\/p>\n homophobic, misogenistic (sic), anti-Semitic and Islamophobic [with] a virulent desire to subordinate the Constitution [to] the weaponized gospel of Jesus Christ.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Famous for his alliterative hyperbole, Weinstein planned to counter this \u201cpernicious and pervasive pattern and practice\u201d of Christians \u201craping\u201d the Constitution by showing portions of a just-released film (in which he and his family play a role<\/a>), which, according to its own website, focuses on<\/p>\n Christian anti-Semitism as the model for all religious hatred, exposing the cross as a symbol of a long history of violence against Jews and Moslems.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n In short, he counters the alleged accusation that \u201cIslam is the devil\u201d with his own gentler, more tolerant perspective:\u00a0 \u201cChristianity is the devil.\u201d<\/p>\n As it turns out, a complaint<\/a> by the Catholic League\u00a0that claimed the film was anti-Catholic led the Academy to prohibit<\/a> the showing of the film clip (which apparently led to a delay in the forum while Weinstein\u2019s group was convinced of the decision).\u00a0 To the Superintendent\u2019s credit, he realized he could be held responsible for the film\u2019s content, and he had not yet screened it.<\/p>\n In response, the MRFF tried to defend the content of the film by pointing out that 96 percent of the 7,500 people who had contacted the MRFF were of a Christian faith, as though that somehow assuages the allegation that the film was anti-Catholic.\u00a0 While that statistic may be impressive, however, Weinstein has sued the military twice (not including his re-filing of the same suit or multiple motions) with six plaintiffs\u2014zero<\/em> percent of whom have been Christians.<\/p>\n In a subsequent press release<\/a>, the president of the Catholic League thanked the Superintendent for canceling the video clip.\u00a0 In that release, the Superintendent was also quoted as saying that the forum was \u201cnot about religious intolerance;\u201d it was about \u201cthe war on terror.\u201d\u00a0 The mere presence of Michael Weinstein\u2014a political activist with no connection to the war on terror\u2014brings that statement into question.<\/p>\n Weinstein has no authority or legitimate reason for addressing cadets at the Academy on topics of Islam or terrorism.\u00a0 In fact, he has little credibility for speaking to cadets at all.\u00a0 While it is notable that the other two MRFF speakers do have some recognized credentials on the topics of Islam or global terrorism, both are members of Weinstein\u2019s MRFF board and are on the record sharing his views.\u00a0 Weinstein himself already had<\/em> a forum at which he expressed his views on religion to Academy cadets during his April 2007 debate<\/a> with ACLJ lawyer Jay Sekulow.<\/p>\n In the end, however, it was the cadets who had the last laugh\u2014almost literally.\u00a0 More than one cadet was quoted saying that some of the content was nothing more than \u201cpropaganda.\u201d\u00a0 Cadets who challenged the speakers were roundly applauded by the crowd, and the local news<\/a> reported that the cadets even chuckled\u00a0at the speakers.\u00a0 While the news report also said the cadets were chided for \u201cnot listening,\u201d cadets reported that Weinstein said \u201cI can\u2019t believe we\u2019ve been at this for over an hour and you still don\u2019t get it.\u201d\u00a0 That is, it wasn\u2019t that they weren\u2019t listening<\/em>; it was that they weren\u2019t agreeing<\/em>.<\/p>\n The basic premise of the MRFF forum was that because the US military is overtly supporting Christianity, it is \u201closing\u201d the war on terror.\u00a0 The cadets appeared to generally disagree.\u00a0 As demonstrated by the comments and reactions, Air Force Academy cadets may not be the ‘malleable and ignorant children’ that Weinstein seems to think they are.\u00a0 Whether or not you agree with the topic, the cadets demonstrated critical thinking and a resistance to persuasion by emotional (and largely unsubstantiated) argument.\u00a0 They also recognized that just because three people sit in the front of the room and profess a worldview, it doesn\u2019t make it so.\u00a0 This is true whether the three are \u201cformer Islamic terrorists\u201d or members of the MRFF who have been \u201cwaging a war\u201d against Christianity for \u201cthe past 50 months.\u201d<\/p>\n Weinstein is a monied lawyer with a political agenda and an ongoing lawsuit against the military.\u00a0 While academic freedom and opposing viewpoints at the Academy are to be lauded, it is disappointing that the Air Force Academy added legitimacy to an otherwise academically inconsequential agitator.\u00a0 Regardless of the reception, though, Weinstein got the publicity and attention he desired.<\/p>\n Cadets can sometimes be a cynical bunch.\u00a0 They generally dislike feel-good focus groups, political correctness, and mandatory formations.\u00a0 They also abhor being treated like children.\u00a0 Weinstein has continuously insinuated that Air Force Academy cadets are incapable of strong, independent, or critical thought.\u00a0 If his reception Wednesday was any indication, they have certainly proven him wrong.\u00a0 Bravo for them.<\/p>\n