No "Merry Christmas" cards for veterans in Dallas VA

[sellersm]

And people wonder what's wrong with this nation...

http://www.myfoxdfw.com/story/242935...#ixzz2oOjkMjc2

They thought it was a kind holiday gesture, but dozens of Prosper students didn't get to deliver the Christmas cards they made for local veterans because of a VA policy against specific religious cards and phrasing.The cards are still in North Texas, and the writers are disappointed their thank you's won't be seen by the people they were intended for.

"I'm hoping that it might make their day because their family might live far away, and they might not have somebody to celebrate Christmas with and I'd like them to know they've not been forgotten and somebody wanted to say thank you," said fourth grader Gracie Brown.
Gracie and her brother, Luke, put a lot of thought and effort into their Christmas cards.

"It includes ‘Merry Christmas,' and when you open it up, it says 'Thank you for your service' and the American flag," said Luke.

Fifty-two students at Grace Academy in Prosper spent Friday making the cards they planned to hand deliver to bedridden veterans at the VA hospital in Dallas Monday morning.
When Gracie and Luke's mom, Andrea, found out they wouldn't be able to, she was outraged.

"This wasn't the country I grew up in, when you couldn't say ‘Merry Christmas,' you couldn't say ‘God bless you' or reference any scripture," she said.

The cards were the idea of Susan Chapman, a math teacher at Grace Academy. She's married to a veteran and volunteers with the American Legion and other veterans' organizations.
"It really didn't occur to me there would be a problem with distributing Christmas cards," said Chapman.

She didn't find out about the VA's holiday card policy until she called Monday morning to arrange details for the cards' delivery.

"I told him my students made cards, we'd like to bring them down for the veterans," said Chapman. "And he said, 'That's great. We're thrilled to have them, except the only thing is, we can't accept anything that says ‘Merry Christmas' or ‘God bless you' or any scriptural references because of all the red tape.'"

An official with the VA later clarified the policy, which is in the Veterans Health Administration handbook, by stating the following:

"In order to be respectful of our Veterans religious beliefs, all donated holiday cards are reviewed by a multi-disciplinary team of staff led by Chaplaincy services and determined if they are appropriate (non-religious) to freely distribute to patients. After the review is complete, the holiday cards that reference religious and/or secular tones are then distributed by Chaplaincy Service on a one-on-one basis if the patient agrees to the religious reference in the holiday card donation. The holiday cards that do not contain religious and/or secular tones are distributed freely to patients across the Health Care System. We regret this process was not fully explained to this group and apologize for any misunderstanding."

"I don't know what their definition of appropriate is," said Chapman.

Parents say as disappointing as this experience was for their children, they're more heartbroken for the veterans.

"They couldn't believe the people that these people they wanted to honor weren't going to get the chance to see what they had done," said Andrea.

The cards will not be thrown away -- they are being shipped to Brook Army Medical Center in San Antonio and to a private facility for veterans in Louisiana.

[BPTactical]

I caught this morning on Fox.
Apalling.

[TFOGGER]

Let me be the very first to say"Fuck this PC bullshit". I flat don't give a rat's furry ass if some atheist or Muslim chooses to be offended by a Christmas Card. I'm Jewish, and I'm not offended when my Christian friends choose to include me in their Christmas wishes. Someone needs to rein in the runaway political correctness on ALL fronts.

[Irving]

I wouldn't be offended if a little kid sent me a card thanking me for service, for a holiday that they celebrated and I didn't. Wishing someone a happy _________ is an outward sharing of well wishes during a time that person cares about. It doesn't matter if the receiver celebrates or not. It'd be like me being excited on my birthday, and someone rejecting my good mood toward them since it wasn't their birthday.

[kidicarus13]

I'm a little confused. It sounds to me like the "Christmas cards" would be distributed...

"the holiday cards that reference religious and/or secular tones are then distributed by Chaplaincy Service on a one-on-one basis if the patient agrees to the religious reference in the holiday card donation."

[SamuraiCO]

So sad these civilian do gooders with their self important attidude need to be jettisoned. They are part of the problem with our over bloated Fed Gov and do nothing for the veteran's benefits.

[Bailey Guns]

It's disgusting, but... Welcome to liberal America.

[Gman]

Welcome to Amerika.

[speedysst]

I used to get mad at stuff like that but now Im just baffled. Im glad the VA is omnipotent enough to know what offends each and every vet. I always thought that was more of an individual thing.

[cstone]

So much junk mail is delivered everyday except Sunday in this country. The VA in one location has decided to spare some veterans from having to see more of it rather than risk the chance that the sender and receiver may actually appreciate the message within the card.

No government employee can be trusted to look out for the feelings of any citizen. If the vet who receives the card is offended they are free to; throw the card away, write back in response to express their feelings, howl at the moon, etc...

I hope the small minded bureaucrat at the VA who is responsible for this decision gloats in the satisfaction that they currently serve no real purpose in our society and the majority of citizens in the republic will be better off when they find employment elsewhere.