For those who cherish freedom

Visit our News page For those who cherish freedom: Why we need to stand with Captain Fields We need 4,000 signatures to reach our petition goal By Guy Rodgers, Executive Director, ACT! for America I have a message from my heart I want to send to every ACT! for America member today. It’s about something very, very precious to me: Freedom. You see, my mother grew up in Germany during World War II. I remember as a child her telling me the story of a man in her apartment building, who in the late 1930’s would publicly criticize Hitler. One night my eight-year-old mother awoke to hear men yelling and pounding on this man’s door. Amid the screams of his family, the Gestapo dragged him away and he was never seen again. The message sent was heard loud and clear. My mother lived in fear of her own government. She understood how precious freedom is. I have never forgotten that story. Because of my love of freedom, I have long been a student of our colonial and founding era. Words cannot describe how much I have learned studying the writings of the Founding Fathers. Four days ago we celebrated the 235th birthday of our country, a country birthed out of passionate desire for liberty and self-governance. Against that backdrop, police Captain Paul Fields was demoted and suspended because he refused to surrender his constitutional rights when ordered to attend an Islamic proselytizing event held at a Muslim Brotherhood-connected Islamic Center. Sadly, very little attention has been paid to this in the media, even in the more conservative talk radio media. So why have we at ACT! for America decided this is an issue we need to aggressively fight? Here’s why, and it’s the same reason our friends at the Thomas More Law Center have filed a lawsuit on his behalf. Protecting freedom. I have no quarrel with government officials choosing, voluntarily, to attend religious events of various faiths. But Captain Fields should never have been compelled to attend an Islamic service and observe classes on Islamic beliefs, simply because he was a police officer and was ordered by his superior to do so. Would the ACLU sit by quietly if a Muslim officer were ordered to attend a Sunday morning Christian service, called “Law Enforcement Appreciation Day?” We all know the answer to that. If the disciplinary action taken against Captain Fields is allowed to stand, without protest or outrage, the message sent to government officials, not only in Tulsa but across the country, is that they can compel subordinates to attend Islamic events, and no one will resist. As much as Islamic terrorism concerns me, I am as concerned about the threat radical Islam—and the political correctness that enables it—poses to our freedoms. That threat is incremental, where tyranny chips away at freedom little by little, until one day freedom is gone. Just ask Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff, our chapter leader in Austria who was recently convicted of “denigrating a religion,” about incremental loss of freedom. Our Founding Fathers understood incremental loss of freedom. That’s why they protested even small taxes imposed on them unlawfully, not because the amounts were large, but because of the precedents they set. We at ACT! for America do not have the human or financial resources to engage every issue or fight every fight. But the case of Captain Paul Fields is one we must rise up and fight. Government officials in Tulsa need to know there are Americans who will resist politically-correct driven assaults on our freedom. The Islamic Center of Tulsa needs to know this. Groups like CAIR and ISNA need to know this. Government officials around the country need to know this. If we, as an organization, make a strong enough and loud enough stand, they will know. This is why we launched our petition—and why we continue to appeal to patriotic Americans to sign it. This is why we will go to Tulsa and hold a news conference and rally. This is why we will launch a call-in campaign to selected Tulsa government officials at the right time. Because if we don’t, what will be next—the Mayor of Tulsa ordering his staff to attend a Ramadan Iftar dinner? If you cherish freedom as I do, and you haven’t already done so, please join us in adding your name to our petition calling for the reinstatement of Captain Fields. We’re only 4,000 signatures short of our goal. Thank you. Yours for a safe—and free—America, Guy Rodgers ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ACT for America P.O. Box 12765 Pensacola, FL 32591 www.actforamerica.org ACT for America is an issues advocacy organization dedicated to effectively organizing and mobilizing the most powerful grassroots citizen action network in America, a grassroots network committed to informed and coordinated civic action that will lead to public policies that promote America’s national security and the defense of American democratic values against the assault of radical Islam. We are only as strong as our supporters, and your volunteer and financial support is essential to our success. Thank you for helping us make America safer and more secure. The news items, blogs, educational materials and other information in our emails and on our website are only intended to provide information, news and commentary on events and issues related to the threat of radical Islam. 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