Dear MRFF,
I’ve been a vocal, and sometimes financial, supporter of MRFF since it started. There’s obviously a need for such an organization to fitht the use of the military for proselytizing.
However, it becomes harder and harder for me to tolerate Mr. Weinstein’s rage-filled rhetoric as reflected in his writings to various officials, and impossible for me to consider making further donations. I think his purple writing weakens his arguments, and risks making MRFF sound like one more shrill special-interest lobby, rather than an intellectually and legally sound advocacy organization.
For instance, in his most recent letter to the USMC, without much effort I counted 15 turns of phrase that sound as if they were written by a freshman with a new thesaurus. Examples:
“completely noxious” (what is partially noxious?)
“veritable legion” (what is an unveritable legion?)
“ignobly branded”,
etc.
The jewel was undoubtedly “sufficiently advanced unconstitutional incompetence”
I know that the USAFA isn’t an academic powerhouse, and his law school may not have emphasized legal writing, but
surely he has somewhere run into the idea of simplicity and clarity as powerful writing tools. His present style makes him sound foolish, more concerned with expressing his anger than with getting results. The truth does not become truer by adding adverbs.
I don’t know if Mr. Wienstein tolerates personal criticism (I sense he doesn’t), but it would be good for our cause if someone could help him achieve an equally emphatic but more adult level of writing.
The work to which MRFF is dedicated is too important not to sharpen all its tools.
Sincerely,
(name withheld)
Dear (name withheld),
Mikey has read your email and asked me to respond on his and MRFF’s behalf.
At the risk of being overly dismissive of your complaints, I find them to be entirely about form over substance. A complaint I find incredibly annoying from a supporter in light of the writings and language employed by those seeking religious dominion over society in general and the U.S. Military specifically. Your complaint causes further aggravation when viewed in light of the astronomical imbalances (funding, manpower, media, etc.) between MRFF and the established organizations who seek to impose this religious domination, often with taxpayer funded help or acquiescence by our military leaders.
Although means do not always justify an end, given situational realities of MRFF and its clients, it is exactly Mikey’s means that have enabled MRFF’s ends (i.e. unparalleled success on behalf of U.S. Military service members). In fact, the letter you have taken exception to, provides a specific example of Mikey’s success employing identical means in response to the identical issue within another service branch of the U.S. Military.
What you have chosen to take offense to is specifically the rationale behind my decision to originally volunteer for MRFF 3 years ago. 17 years of firsthand experience in participating in and objecting to the inertia of smaller governmental institutions’ tendency to steamroll polite requests for change or action led to my very rational decision.
If you take the time to read Mikey’s biography or either of his books, you will see Mikey’s attempts at following some mythical Marquess of Queensberry rules in this fight were met repeatedly by the steamrolling tendency of a much larger governmental institution (Department of Defense) than I ever had to deal with. A government institution filling with powerful leaders aligning themselves with a religious institutional structure determined to unconstitutionally control government and all aspects of our society (Christian Dominionism). Mikey’s abandonment of ‘milk toast’ demands or responses has appealed to many other rational individuals such as former Ambassador Joseph Wilson and Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson (former chief of staff to Sec. of State Colin Powell) who populate MRFF’s Board & Advisory Board (view full list here: http://www.militaryreligiousfreedom.org/about/foundation-voices/).
Mikey’s style in making demands on behalf of MRFF’s clients has produced a track record of success on behalf of U.S. Military service members faced with unconstitutional religious influence in their training, assignments, advancement, and retention that is second to none. Mikey’s successful style led to the adoption of the 1st ever religious neutrality standard enforceable under the UCMJ (Air Force Instruction 1-1, Section 2.11). The writing style you find so offensive has led to 5 Nobel Peace Prize nominations and being named to the List of 100 Most Influential People in U.S. Defense (compiled over five months by more than two dozen reporters and editors representing the world’s biggest military newsroom and the award-winning staffs of Gannett Government Media’s sector-leading publications: Defense News, Army Times, Air Force Times, Navy Times, Marine Corps Times, Armed Forces Journal and Federal Times).
Your support has been appreciated. However, if focusing on form over substance is your determining factor for continuing support for MRFF, then let me extend an invitation to you in the future when you want to re-join the adults who are actually getting things done and not worrying so much on how. Until the real world environment MRFF has to operate in changes to fit your comfort level and perceptions of “adult writing”, MRFF’s work on behalf of our clients is too important and too successful to placate the squeamish.
Sincerely,
Andy Kasehagen