Peace Cross Saved

The final arbiter of legal conflict in our country, the Supreme Court, handed the American Humanist Association a huge defeat this week. The atheist group, which touts a slogan----“We are good without a God,” was trying to have a 40-foot cross taken down that was erected to honor 49 perished World War I veterans.

The Blandensburg Peace Cross was built with donations in a Washington suburb almost a century ago. In 2005, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals said the cross was unconstitutional because it was cared for by a Maryland park commission. The suit was pushed by the Humanist Association.

This week’s Supreme Court decision could have led the way to dismantlement of memorials all over the country. Anything with a cross would have been open game.

Writing for the majority, Justice Samuel Alito, said the cross represented the community’s grief at the loss of war dead. Quoting the justice now: “Its removal or radical alteration at this date would be seen by many not as a neutral act but as the manifestation of hostility toward religion.”

Thank God for seven sane justices. It isn’t a stretch to believe the next act would be to pull up the 120 white crosses in front of Maple Hill cemetery---crosses that represent the lives of area war veterans----cared for with public money.

Obviously the court did not believe the Peace Cross violated anyone’s first amendment rights.

I tolerate people who don’t think like me. I embrace other views. In this ruling the message is clear. If the shoe fits…you need to learn how to tolerate those of us who dare to have faith.