Why aren't people supporting the Pagan Veterans' Headstone Campaign?

[poltr1]

I'm on the Yahoo! Group list "Pagan-Headstone-Campaign". Its purpose -- and ultimate goal -- is to get the VA to officially recognize the pentacle -- a 5-pointed star inscribed in a circle -- as an approved emblem to go on the tombstone of people who served in the US military.


There are currently about 38 approved emblems, from the Christian Cross to an atom-like symbol for Atheists to small groups like the Aaronic Order, the American Humanist Association, to Eckankar. The way the VA regulations were written, it would be difficult to impossible for a pentacle, or the Awen or Thor hammer, to be recognized.
Now it has come to my attention that the regulation has been changed so that it would be even harder for pagan groups to obtain proper recognition for the pentacle. To me, this is legalized discrimination. While the First Amendment states, "Congress shall make no law.....[regarding] freedom of religion....", the VA has (in my opnion) once again failed in their mission to serve veterans.

I was never in the military; the closest I've served is as an Air Force contractor. But my father, and several of my uncles, were in the Army. And I owe a great big Thank You to the veterans who have put their lives on the line for the rest of us, so that we can enjoy the freedoms that we have. As the magnetic ribbon says, "Freedom is not free."

Out of all the pagans out there, less than 300 have signed up for this list. And the list is being pruned of inactive and/or no longer interested members. Why is this number so low? Is it because many pagans are on the political left and anti-war, like the "hippie" folks in the 1960s? Is it because of the people in the campaign leadership and/or the methods they employ? Or are there other reasons why pagans are choosing to not get involved?

Comments

[ocean-star.livejournal.com]

I don't support it because I don't support burial. Graveyards waste too much land and are environmentally dangerous. Funeral pyres were good enough for my Pagan ancestors, and they're good enough for me. Besides, burial is a Christian thing anyway - they bury because they believe their body is going to be resurrected when Jesus comes back.

[athenawindsong.livejournal.com]

I know I *should* support it, it's a worthy and necessary cause to support. However, I must agree with Toby. Graveyards, while beautiful and tranquil, are unnecessary wastes of a good public park. They can also be seen as irresponsible from an environmentalist's point of view, as Toby has also mentioned. I, too, plan to be cremated, with no physical marker - my mind and what I have done with it is my legacy, not some headstone that will be forgotten in very little time. I never really saw the need for graveyards at all, don't like the idea of headstones and find the preservation of a spot of earth for housing a decaying body rather morbid.

[filkerdave.livejournal.com]

Besides, burial is a Christian thing anyway

That's not actually true, unless you're prepared to explain why Jews are required to let the body "return to the soil whence it came from?" And cremation is popular among Christians and forbidden by Jewish law and custom.

I assure you, there's nothing at all Christian about it.

[filkerdave.livejournal.com]

I suspect that most people just don't care.

[poltr1]

Cremation was also forbidden under Catholic law untl recently.