Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion........

Quite a lively debate here in the old hometown, the usual much ado. The Baltimore County Fire Department held their graduation the other night, and three members of the new class (below) did not salute the flag during the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance.

You can just imagine the horrified responses, from retired fire personnel and active fire personnel and members of the local populace. Disrespect! Fire them all! Outrageous! How much longer can our republic survive in the face of such sedition?

Now, hold on just a moment, please. First of all, congratulations to the men and women in the class. They have been through an arduous regimen of training in fire suppression and emergency medicine, the result of which being that they are trained to take their place in our community as active first responders.

Oh, and three of them are Jehovah's Witnesses.  Here is a statement issued by Fire Department Public Information Officer Elise Armacost:

We are aware of concerns about three recruits who stood but did not salute during the National Anthem during tonight's 113th Recruit Class graduation ceremony. These new BCoFD members are Jehovah's Witnesses, whose faith prohibits displays of national allegiance. They are successful graduates with a commitment to public service. BCoFD respects members of all faiths, as well as the Constitutional right to free speech. We congratulate our graduates on their accomplishments and look forward to their service to Baltimore County. EA

My point is this. We are a nation founded on the rock of freedom of religion. Among the tenets of the Mennonite, Amish, and Jehovah's Witness faiths is the belief that they offer allegiance only to God's Kingdom, instead of any government or nation. They do not salute flags or sing patriotic songs, because to them, such things are forms or worship antithetical to their faith. They stand, out of respect, as the men in the Fire Department class did.

It turned out, as the debate raged on, that there have been Witnesses graduated in the past from the Fire Academy, and they did not salute, and somehow, it didn't cause the furor that this did.

And how about a nice hand for the fire-stokers who whipped up this brouhaha, ensuring that these three men will now begin their careers in the fire service marked as men apart, because of their religion.

Let us be basic here for a second. Imagine that, God forbid, your house is on fire or you are having a medical emergency or you are trapped in the crushed wreckage of a car accident.  When the firefighters arrive to help, do you care what religion they follow, or whether they saluted a flag when they were graduated?

I don't think you do.

Just let people do the job they're trained to do, please.