Posted on 07/15/2006 4:00:11 AM PDT by Oshkalaboomboom
The 43-foot San Diego landmark represents clear government favoritism toward one religion.
THE GRACEFUL SIMPLICITY of the towering cross atop a San Diego hill belies its convoluted history. It starts with a small wooden cross erected on the city-owned hill nearly 100 years ago, apparently for Easter sunrise services. Atop 822-foot Mt. Soledad, there is little to block the first rays of the sun.
Over the years, crosses were vandalized or blown down and replaced; the current version was erected in 1954. It is a striking sight, visible from Interstate 5 and surrounded by an imposing spiked-top fence.
In 1989, a veteran and atheist filed suit against the city of San Diego, contending that the cross amounts to a 43-foot-tall constitutional violation. Lawyers for the city have long said the current cross is a war memorial, though some maps continue to refer to it as the Mt. Soledad Easter Cross. And any references to veterans or lost soldiers were not present at the site when the suit was filed. In the years since, as the plaintiff has won every significant legal decision, the cross has been the subject of three voter referendums, countless municipal and federal resolutions and endless debate.
In the end, none of this matters. Whether viewed as a war memorial, an icon or a place of worship, the cross is an extremely visible symbol of one religion. It occupies arguably the most prominent piece of public real estate in the city, which is in a state where the Constitution is even more exacting than the U.S. Bill of Rights about the separation of church and state.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Yeah this action really fits in with freedom of religion. /s
Hey! Just don't look at it! Case closed.
How long before they go after the thousands of white crosses in Flanders Field and Arlington National Cemetery?
It's on their to do list.
stupid flanders...
Inscribe it with Bible verses.....in Spanish...see what happens...
Favoritism is not a Constitutional problem. Congress "shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion..." Congress can do a lot of "favoring" without running afoul of this clause.
The most abused, and misunderstood concept in the United States.
Ignorance is bliss in regards to these people.
Sheesh!
Chill out rabid atheist....soon enough you will inherit the eternal nirvana free from all the Cross symbols forever..... only instead you will be lamenting for He who hung on one so you would not be where you wound up but you refused the gift....but it's really the wall of separation between heaven vs hell.
And the assault on Christianity continues....
I guess the original framers were in violation of their own document, since their Judeo-Chrisitan heritage was an important influence on their work.
Sure--the framers really meant that we should be tearing down crosses, enforcing infiltration of the gay agenda into public schools, bending over backwards to show respect for Islam, outlawing invocations at public school events in deference to atheists, etc. etc.
Funny though: these things can never be found in the actual text of the Constitution. Only by mystical interpretation of it as an ever-changing, "living" document.
The honored American dead in France should be brought to Arlington...ASAP.
Saint Didacus of Alcalá, more familiar as San Diego, was a lay brother of the Order of Friars Minor who died at Alcalá, Spain, November 12, 1463. ......In 1449 he was recalled to Spain, whence he went to Rome to be present at the canonization of Bernardino of Siena in 1450. At Rome he fulfilled the humble office of infirmarian in the convent of Ara Coeli; and his biographers record the miraculous cure of many whom he attended, through his pious intercession. He was finally recalled to Spain and was sent by his superiors to Alcalá where he spent the remaining years of his life in penance, solitude, and the delights of contemplation.Saint Didacus was canonized by Sixtus V in 1588. His feast is kept, especially among the Franciscans, on November 12.. He is the saint to whom the Franciscan mission that developed into San Diego, California was dedicated.
Is it inappropriate for a group of taxpayers to provide a memorial on public property even though that memorial reflects that group's religious sentiment?
No. One need only visit any national cemetery to see a host of religious emblems.
Is there any law preventing other groups from doing the same?
Not prior to the selfish motives and picayunish sensitivities of modern secularism....at that point, their position was given preeminence by our courts.
The POS author of this POS story ays the cross is a symbol of one religion. He doesnt mention tht religion. What religion is it? There must be at least a thousand version of Christianity all calling themselves separate religions. If he means Christianity as one religion he is pretty ignorant, but then anyone who wants to tear down that cross is that --ignorant.
How long will it be before these creeps want to tear down the cross from the top of every church in the nation? Since thay can drive down any street in the nation and see these very visible symbols of the thing they hate so much.
Would the ACLU be demanding to tear it down? (crickets)
The City of San Diego is huge. With a population of 1.3 million spread over 73 square miles, it's hard to believe the cross on Mt. Soledad, at one of the far corners of the city, is at all "the most prominent" except to people traveling near La Jolla. San Diego has plenty of public-owned hills and beaches; Mount Soledad is not the only one.
Besides, the LDS/Mormon Temple is extremely obvious for anyone driving the I-5 just North of the area near Mount Soledad, and the grand views of that temple would seem to promote a particular religion far more than the more generic cross.
If only that judge hadn't invalidated the original sale of the land to the highest bidder (the Mount Soledad Monument Assn or something), things would be so much simpler.
And of course this editorial vomit is produced by the LA Slimes, handmaiden and cheerleading for everything Satanic in the State of Californication.
"Governor Schwarzenegger, tear down this cross!"
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