You have got to see this video from a few weeks ago, at the "Summer Freedom Celebration" at
First Baptist Church in Springdale, Arkansas. In my book I talked about the merger of God, Patriotism and Republicans, and how the militarism really comes out during the Fourth of July season. But never, in a million years, would I have expected anything that would remind me so closely of 1930s Germany:
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From the beginning of the footage, HUGE video screens display waving American flags, while an entire orchestra and choir plays some hyped up version of the National Anthem, with a color guard in front. All branches of the military are represented, and many soldiers are interviewed during the course of the festivities about spreading Freedom and "fighting for religious freedom". Yes, that's right. Apparently, fighting Muslims is equivalent to fighting "radical judges".
Agenda below the fold...
If you only have a few minutes, I'd watch the first 3-4 minutes, and from 15:00 - 20:00 while they are honoring the various branches of the military. This is taking the confusion between God, Patriotism, Militarism, and Republicans to a whole new level. Even the Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas gets into the mix at about the 20:00 mark.
Here's the agenda, as far as I have watched:
Start to 8:00 mark - Musical medley with disturbingly nationalistic soldier close ups and no fewer than 10 moving and stationary flags. In particular check out the dramatic zoom ins around the 5:00 mark and the drumrolls from 6:00 on. Another highlight is the pastor singing "This Land is Your Land" at about 7:20, and "When Johnny Comes Marching Home", complete with real soldier! As I watched this, my mouth was hanging open. I am blown away that this happened in 2005 Arkansas. How could anyone participate in this and not find it entirely disturbing, straight to the soul?
15:00 to 20:00 mark - Honoring the various branches of the military, including logos, flags and appropriate anthems. Let me remind you, this is a church.
22:00 - Interview with Captain Kevin Easted of the 39th Brigade combat team, U.S. Army
Pastor: Would you all please welcome Kevin and his family here today. Thank you very much.
18 months ago, Kevin walked into my office about to leave for the country of Iraq to serve his country. As we began to converse about matters of faith, it became apparent in Kevin's heart that he had never truly put his genuine faith and trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. On that day in my office, Kevin and I knelt down, and he prayed to receive the Lord into his life.
Upon his return, Kevin brought to me an American flag. And that flag was a gift to me, and to our church. And you see it here to my right. This flag was flown over Camp Cook Tagee on June 28th, 2004, marking the transfer of sovereignty to the people of Iraq. It reads, and I quote, "Presented to Dr. Ronnie Floyd, and the First Baptist Church of Springdale, and the Church at Pinnacle Hills in Rogers, by Captain Kevin Easted." This was flown in honor of the fellowship of believers that he himself identified with unashamedly from the moment he trusted Christ as Lord and Savior. (Editors note: Wait a minute. The flag was flown in the name of Christianity? I thought this wasn't a Holy War?) Thank you Kevin for your sacrifice for this country, and for this special gift to our church.
Pastor: Kevin, let me ask you today, when you were in Iraq, did you feel the presence of God?
Kevin: I did. You know whenever you volunteer and go to combat and serve your country, you leave behind your family and your life, and you quickly learn that you gotta depend on the Lord for every single thing. You're in constant prayer for your safety and your protection, and through those prayers the Lord began to reveal to us daily.
I can remember a Sunday morning last June when everything we did seemed to be going wrong... We had a group of soldiers that set up a tactical checkpoint North of the gate that they were supposed to, and we had another group that were delayed getting to the Northern gate. Everything we did was going wrong. We had a suicide bomber that was going down the highway, and ran into this checkpoint and had to turn around. So he returned to the nearest gate, which was the Northern gate, and detonated there. With all the soldiers being in the wrong place, and delayed getting to work that day, there wasn't one single U.S. casualty that was serious in nature.
There were however, numerous Iraqi casualties. There was one in particular that I remember, who was an Iraqi citizen who I treated. And in his broken English he told me that he too was a Christian. The Lord really protected us that day, and though we really didn't understand why everything was going wrong, for us that morning the Lord had a plan.
You know, we hear a lot of bad things on the media, or in the media, but we never hear about the good things that are being done or how the Lord is protecting us. We never hear about the Acts of Divine Intervention. Um, you know, the Lord has a plan for us, and although things seem to be really bad at times, we always knew that God was in control.
Pastor: Captain Easted, thank you for your service to America, and Iraq, and for helping preserve Freedom around the world with the liberty of Terrorism worldwide. God bless you Captain. Amen. Thank you. (Much applause)
Alternate Interview Translation:
Pastor: Did you see any dead heathens while you were there?
Kevin: As a matter of fact I did. This bomb was set off by a heathen suicide bomber, and God saved all the Christians, but the Iraqi civilian heathens were killed. It was clearly divine intervention, and you don't hear about that on the media do you. They only tell you the bad news, when they should be telling you about all the Muslim heathens who are meeting their maker every day.
Pastor: Amen, brother. (Whispering) Next time take some pictures, ok buddy?
27:00 - Random misleading diatribe on religious freedom and Supreme Court rulings on the Ten Commandments.
The Ten Commandments and the Bible are what this nation was founded on. READ YOUR HISTORY BOOKS!
Alternate Translation: Except for "Thou Shall Not Kill". Pay no attention to the elephant in the Bible.
28:15 - Interview with Technical Sergeant, James Frankensmithson (I swear it's Frankensmithson).
Pastor: Today, speaking of Freedom, I want you to welcome home, got back from Iraq on Friday of this week. Beside me is Technical Sergeant, James Frankensmithson (sp?), of the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing. (Much applause) Welcome home my dear brother. Great to have you back. I prayed for you. God bless you.
First of all, what is it like, leaving your family, knowing that you are going into harms way?
Jamie: Well pastor I'll tell you, no one anticipates leaving their family, and that certainly held true with me. But it is something that we as a family embraced as Americans. As an American soldier and as believers in Christ. (Editors note: WHAT THE HELL IS THAT? That's a HOLY WAR, by definition!) To leave them, it was very tough, especially knowing the areas that we were potentially going to be going into. But the bottom line is, that I am an American. And I believe strongly in the Freedoms that we have in this nation. And I along with thousands of other men and women are willing to serve in whatever capacity we need to in order to protect those very freedoms that we have.
(Spontaneous applause)
Pastor: Thank God for you. Let me ask you this Jamie. How are the Iraqi people responding to their American liberators?
Jamie: Sir, I want to give the Marines their hand here, I appreciate those guys very much. Of all the stories that we heard and things that we saw, one that really stands out in my memory is speaking with a Marine over there. He said, you know, the Iraqi civilians are putting their own lives in jeopardy to save ours. Then he went on to explain that the enemy, the terrorists, the insurgents, would come out and they would place roadside bombs along various places in order to destroy convoys in those areas. In the middle of the night the Iraqi civilians would come out and mark those areas by whatever means they had in order to notify our troops to stay away from those pockets. So I would say based upon that particular story along with many others that I've heard that the Iraqi civilians are very very thrilled that we are there and they support our cause.
Pastor: Outstanding, is it not amazing that the media never tells us that side? Why would you make this sacrifice and put your life in harms way for the cause of freedom?
Jamie: Sir, I greatly believe in the rights and freedoms of this great nation. I believe in all these soldiers that have fought before me. I believe in all the soldiers that have fought with me. And I believe in all those that have paid the ultimate sacrifice for this country. I believe in the future for America and for this church. But the bottom line is this: I believe that terrorism must be stopped at all costs, in order to preserve those freedoms that we have in this nation. (wild applause)
Pastor: Jamie, my final question to you, and by the way I love your haircut. I want your daughter to come up here and stand by me, and I want you to look up at your daddy and never forget this moment sweetheart. Is there a personal experience that you'd like to share with this church that took place while you were there?
Jamie: I remember one night, we'd been on a recon mission. As I was coming back to my post I remember seeing American flag draped caskets being loaded into an aircraft to be sent home to their families, and I remember thinking "Gosh, what a loss that is. And those families are fixing to go through one of the roughest times of their lives." But I knew that the approximate 24 to 36 hours before that, we had launched one of the very major offensive attacks on the enemy. In that attack we knew that there were several of the marine and army soldiers that were pinned down, and we had planned and executed that plan to the fullest of our ability. What I found out later on was that we destroyed the largest underground living quarters, and the largest ammunition depot since the beginning of the war, and freed up all of those soldiers. And I remember, I know my grandad told me this, and I know it's a famous quote. I remember him telling me one time that "Freedom isn't Free". And I saw that. But at the same time I also understood that it could have been a lot worse than what it actually was. And I stand here today and I'm able to celebrate our freedom with my family, but I also understand a great deal more than ever before how important this day really is to America.
The "Freedom's Never Free" montage at the 41:00 mark is also a nice touch.
There is a lot more, and I'm sure there are more golden nuggets of religious nationalism and militarism. But I can take no more of this today, lest I go batshit crazy simply from exposure to something this disturbing. Hopefully you will also come through with your sanity intact, but I suspect there will be some emotional casualties in the Kossack community this afternoon.