FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. – When Clarksville residents attend the city’s annual Christmas Parade, they may notice one float with a different kind of message.
Military Atheists & Secular Humanists of Fort Campbell (MASH), a group of skeptics centered at Fort Campbell say they too enjoy the holidays but not for religious reasons.
“We are people that enjoy the holidays just like everyone else, but we don’t subscribe to the religious dogma,” says member Patrick Horst, an active duty soldier at Fort Campbell.
Last year MASH had a float in the Clarksville parade that proclaimed XXX and another that illustrated some of the pagan roots of what is now celebrated as Christmas.
“People are very tolerant, they understand that everyone is not Christian and we even picked up a few new members from having a float in the parade last year.” He said.
Horst helped organize last years float and donated his trailer, but could not attend because he received orders to deploy just beforehand.
This year, he hopes to be home to enjoy the event which is now in the organizing stage. A recent post on the groups Facebook page put out a call for volunteers to decorate and suggested themes for this year’s entry including; the Pagan roots of Christmas, the Winter Solstice “with a little Festivus thrown in for good measure” (A Seinfeld reference)