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June 23, 2006

Soledad Cross Should Stay

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has tragically refused to stay a federal judge's order that San Diego must remove the Mount Soledad Cross. The cross, 43 feet high, is a memorial to fallen American soldiers buried on the site, but an atheist has successfully argued in court that the Christian symbol violates the separation of church and state. The case has been going on since 1991.

Supporters of the effort to keep the cross are hoping the federal government will use its powers of eminent domain to take the property and keep the cross in place, but so far no movement in that direction has occurred. Congress already did what it could to save the cross by designating it and the land under it a national veterans memorial and authorizing the Department of the Interior to accept the City of San Diego's donation of the land. Unfortunately, the City declined to donate the land.

After supporters of the cross collected 100,000 signatures to petition the City Council to save the cross, the question was put to the voters, and 76% voted in favor of the proposition to keep the cross. But a State Court ruled the proposition was unconstitutional.

I agree with Rob Muise, attorney with the Law Center, which is trying to save the cross:

"Friends, comrades, and family members of thousands of our fallen veterans have chosen the Mt. Soledad memorial as a place to honor and remember their fallen heroes," he said. "As a former Marine officer and veteran of the first Persian Gulf War, I am sickened by the thought of the pain that these court decisions must be causing for these grieving families. Our veterans deserve better than this."

It's a real shame that this case has gone on so long and wrenched so many hearts. I don't support the display of the Ten Commandments on public property, but the meaning of the cross extends far beyond Christianity to include the general reverence people feel for sacrifice.

One would be hard-pressed to find any symbol on public property that is free of religious or mystical meaning. The hyper-atheism that calls for purging all religious symbols from public property, no matter how long they have been in place, so as not to exclude some Americans in reality spits on our nation's diverse heritage.

Posted by Becky at June 23, 2006 12:09 PM