Christian Leaders See Problems With Being Politically Correct

This is a strange day and time to be a member of the United States military. At a time when special interest groups beg a sympathetic President to allow gays in the military, the military is taking a hard line stance on Christian speakers. In the past two months the armed forces have rejected public speaking engagements featuring two of America's most prominent Christian leaders. First, Tony Perkins the president of the Family Research Council was dis-invited to speak at Andrews Air Force base. On the heels of that decision, the Pentagon dis-invited Franklin Graham to speak during the National Day of Prayer.

Tony Perkins believes that Christianity is being victimized by political correctness ran amok. "We see a federal judge who's been on the bench since Jimmy Carter appointed her. She's not a new judge. This is a judge who's been around for quite some time. And she decides all of a sudden that the National Day of Prayer is unconstitutional. So I do think what we're seeing is an environment that is hostile to Christianity," Perkins said.

Personally, I believe that the current administration is trying to be so politically correct about religion that it refuses to allow anything at all resembling a national religious identity. Indeed President Obama stated as much last year when addressing the press in Turkey: "One of the great strengths of the United States," the President said, "is ... we have a very large Christian population -- but we do not consider ourselves a Christian nation or a Jewish nation or a Muslim nation. We consider ourselves a nation of citizens who are bound by ideals and a set of values."

While I will agree with President Obama that there are numerous religious factions within the United States, I do not agree that America does not consider itself a Christian nation. Furthermore I think it does a tremendous disservice to our troops to prevent prominent Christian speakers from speaking to them. Though the military is certainly eclectic from a faith standpoint, it, like America itself, is a predominantly a Christian body. At what point will we the Christian people in this country stand up and demand more from our country and from our elected officials? At what point will be willing to put our political differences aside and join together based on our religious similarities? For there are few more foul and despicable words in today's modern vernacular than "political correctness."