![]() ![]() Our outlook and world view affect everything we do, including how we treat others. The problem is that some people don't understand how important spirituality is to the whole person. "Why am I here?" "What is my purpose in life?" Why is there evil and suffering in the world?" Even atheism and agnosticism are beliefs, and belief matters. It's not just the practice of prayer or meditation. Sometimes people say something like, "I'm not religious, but I'm a spiritual person." Spirituality is not limited to a Christian who goes to church every Sunday, a Muslim who prays five times a day while facing Mecca, or a Jew who keeps a kosher kitchen. Spirituality is not just a belief in a higher power, but includes beliefs, ethics and values, even a sense of what is fair. But what to put down as a religious preference is serious business, because spirituality is important. Service members can generally put whatever religious preference they want on their tags, including "Atheist" or "Agnostic." Some even ask for "Jedi" or "Druid." There is no list of official or approved religions-after all, that would constitute government endorsement of a particular religion. "No Religious Preference" and "None" were eventually added today many faith groups and broad denominations are available, reflecting the diversity of the armed forces. Obviously, that proved to be too limiting. Today's identification tags identify vital information about the wearer: name, Social Security number, blood type and religious preference.ĭuring World War II there were only three religious categories that could be put on dog tags: P for Protestant, C for Catholic and H for Hebrew (Jewish). But there was no standardization as to what was included. Some units paid for more durable identification. Soldiers at that time would often write basic information about themselves on a piece of paper and pin it to their uniform in case they were killed or badly injured. Dog tags have their origin in the Civil War, but only unofficially. Officially they are identification tags but almost everyone calls them dog tags. ![]() What do you want others to know about you? What if you had to limit that information to only four lines?Īnyone who has served for any length of time in the military is familiar with those metal ovals worn on a chain around the neck. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |