Air Force: Religious Right Allies Complain About Removal of ‘God’ From Military Motto
On Feb. 6, 36 members of Congress — including Congressional Prayer Caucus Co-chair Rep. Randy Forbes (R-Va.) — sent a letter to Air Force Chief of Staff General Norton Schwartz in protest of the removal of “God” from the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office (RCO) logo.
In their letter, Forbes and his allies said “The action taken by the RCO suggests that all references to God, regardless of their context, must be removed from the military. We ask that you reverse this perplexing decision.”
The logo, which was recently altered thanks to a complaint from the Military Association of Atheists and Free Thinkers, contained the motto Opus Dei Cum Pecunia Alienum Efficemus (Doing God’s Work with Other People’s Money). The motto is now Miraculi Cum Pecunia Alienum Efficemus (Doing Miracles with Other People’s Money).
I’m not much of a Latin scholar, but I’m glad the Air Force changed the motto. This was an affront to church-state separation, plus it was kind of weird. Apparently the motto had been an inside joke for years, but I don’t think it’s especially funny.
For some reason, religious mottoes have been a big issue lately in Congress, especially for Forbes. If you recall, the Virginia Republican was the one who led the crusade in the U.S. House of Representatives in November to have “In God We Trust” reaffirmed as the official motto of this country, even though absolutely no one had suggested it wasn’t the motto.