Reply to America was founded on religious freedom; why do atheists want to ban organized religion?

Forum Index » Religion

Reply to "America was founded on religious freedom; why do atheists want to ban organized religion?"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]-Bladensburg cross - a giant cross on government property that the supreme court basically ruled would normally be considered an unacceptable government endorsement of religion except that *it had been there for so long we don't want to make them take it down.* (So... if I break the law for a really long time, suddenly it's cool. And you can bet that no other religion's symbol would be allowed to stand on public grounds long enough to get the longevity needed for this to apply to anyone else.)

The Peace Cross[1] is a World War I memorial located in Bladensburg, Maryland. Standing 40 feet (12 m) in height, the large cross, is made of tan concrete with exposed pink granite aggregate; the arms of the cross are supported by unadorned concrete arches. Erected by 1925 in the memory of 49 local servicemen from Prince George's County who died during World War I, the base of the cross displays the words "valor," "endurance," "courage," and "devotion" as well as a bronze tablet listing the names of those lost in combat.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace_Cross

The memorial was originally commissioned by the American Legion, but since turned over to be maintained by a commission within Maryland. This created an apparent conflict with the separation of church and state, and led to the Supreme Court case American Legion v. American Humanist Association in 2019 which decided the monument was built for secular purposes and had historical importance beyond the Christian symbolism, so there was no conflict for the state to maintain the monument.[2]

It’s a war memorial and you are purposely leaving that information out because you are intellectually dishonest. [/quote]

Right. It's a war memorial *that's a giant cross*. RBG's dissent represents this idea pretty well:

"Every Court of Appeals to confront the question has held that “[m]aking a . . . Latin cross a war memorial does not make the cross secular,” it “makes the war memorial sectarian.”... The Peace Cross is no exception. That was evident from the start. At the dedication ceremony, the keynote speaker analogized the sacrifice of the honored soldiers to that of Jesus Christ, calling the Peace Cross “symbolic of Calvary,” App. 449, where Jesus was crucified."

But again, the majority decided that while the cross might have normally been unconstitutional, but it had been there a long time, so people were used to it and thus they wanted to leave it:
"Familiarity itself can become a reason for preservation. Fourth, when time’s passage imbues a religiously expressive monument, symbol, or practice with this kind of familiarity and historical significance, removing it may no longer appear neutral, especially to the local community. The passage of time thus gives rise to a strong presumption of constitutionality."

This is basically the definition of, when you get used to a position of privilege, equality feels like oppression.[/quote]

In addition to the names of 49 servicemen, the bronze plaque on the cross features a quote from Woodrow Wilson: "The right is more precious than peace. We shall fight for the things we have always carried nearest our hearts. To such a task we dedicate our lives.”

The 49 men memorialized by the Bladensberg cross- known as the Peace Cross actually fought against oppression and gave their lives in that fight. It was originally built on private land.

On June 20, 2019, in the case of American Legion v. American Humanist Association, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in favor of keeping the Peace Cross on public land, by the reason that it does not violate the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

The memorial was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015.[1]

Work began in 2021 to restore the cross and the renovated memorial was rededicated in a ceremony on Veterans Day 2022. The restoration was estimated to cost about $1 million with the Park and Planning Commission seeking private donations to help cover the costs.

How does the war memorial oppress you? What does it do to make your life worse? Just exist? Notice you didn’t fully explain the purpose of the cross as a memorial- because you are intellectually dishonest.

[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics