Fallen Pagan Heroes

Anyone who has ever stood in line at the DMV knows that sometimes, it takes a while to get somewhere within a government bureacracy. But 9 years? At what point is it valid to assume there is some purposeful stalling going on?

It was nine years ago in 1997 that pagan groups began petitioning the US Dept. of Veterans Affairs to include the five-pointed pentacle on the headstones of soldiers killed in action. In response, the VA has twiddled it's collective thumbs, refusing to issue an official acceptance or denial.

Among the formally recognized religious symbols are those of atheists, Eckankar, and Soka Gakkai, amongst 35 others.

It seems to me that the government places wiccans in the same camp as gay and lesbian enlistees. "You can join the armed forces," the government says, "you can serve, you can fight and you can die for us, but we will vehemently deny and repress the basic essence of who you are."

Don't ask, don't tell - for both sexual/gender identity and spiritual path - is institutionalized and sanctioned discrimination. Just another example of our collective social disregard for the constitution: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."

What do you think? Should pagan soldiers have the right to identify their path on their headstone?

Discuss.