A perfect example of this has just happened in Oldham County, Texas (a Panhandle county resting between Amarillo and New Mexico). The county government there has just allowed the installation of a 4-ton monument depicting the 10 Commandments to be placed on county government property near the County Courthouse (pictured above). They did this knowing that the same kind of religious monuments have been declared to violate the First Amendment of the Constitution in other places (such as Alabama and Kentucky).
The county government did not pay for the stone memorial. It was paid for with $11,000 in donations from area churches and individuals. All the county did was give its permission for the religious memorial to be permanently placed on government property. But that is enough to violate the Constitution, because it shows that the county government favors the christian and jewish religions above all others. It is also a slap in the face to those who have chosen to not be religious.
These government officials don't seem to understand the concept of religious freedom. The First Amendment guarantees that people ALL religions and people with no religious beliefs will be treated equally by government on all levels, including county government. But the memorial shows that the county government has publicly declared their support for the christian religion over all others, and that infers that anyone but christians can expect to not be treated equally by that government.
Other Panhandle counties had also been offered a similar memorial, but at least two have turned it down (Potter and Randall counties, where the city of Amarillo is). They had no desire to waste precious county dollars in a court fight that they had no chance of winning. I think the Oldham County government is hoping that no one in the sparsely-populated county will object (or that those who do object will be too cowed by the fundamentalists in the county to file a court suit).
This is not just despicable, it is un-American.
yet, anyone that tries to take it down will be called unamerican and heathens..sigh*
ReplyDeleteU.S. Supreme Court, Library of Congress, Ronald Reagan Building, Jefferson Memorial, National Archives, White House, Lincoln Memorial, U.S. Capitol.
ReplyDeleteAre all of theses despicable and un-American, too?
"Are all of theses [sic; should have been "these"] despicable and un-American, too?"
ReplyDelete[Crickets chirping, even in January]
You're uncharacteristically reticent, Ted. What's the problem? Are you unwilling to take a jackhammer to our nation's most treasured monuments, or have you resigned yourself to the fact that (as is so often the case) our Nation's Capital operates under a different set of rules than the rest of the country?
I do believe that any part of government, at any level, should not endorse religion. And I think Washington operates by a different set of rules (although it shouldn't).
ReplyDelete