Posted on 02/29/2004 12:53:37 PM PST by FBD
By Steve Duin of the Oregonian
02/29/04
Maybe it was the timing. "The Passion of the Christ" is so much in the news. And it was against the backdrop of that depiction of real persecution and unforgettable suffering that Roy S. Moore swept through town.
You remember Roy. While an Alabama circuit judge in 1997, Moore ignored a court order to remove the Ten Commandments from the wall behind his bench.
Owing to the publicity of that stand, Moore was elected chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court three years later . . . and subsequently ousted from the post when he refused to remove a 5,280-pound granite block inscribed with those very commandments from the courthouse lobby.
The toll of that righteous stand? Infamy? Poverty? Dishonor?
Heavens, no. How about celebrity and speakers' fees. How about Saturday's "Profile in Courage" award from the Constitution Party of Oregon.
Maybe it was the timing. "The Passion" is so much in the news. You might say we've lowered the bar on what passes for sacrifice and paying a price for one's beliefs.
More than 500 folks paid $40 to celebrate Moore at a banquet at the Airport Holiday Inn. I'm not sure when I crossed the twilight zone or hopped the invisible fence that separates the world I know from the Constitution Party's alternative universe, but I knew I'd arrived when I heard the first "Amen" chorus at Moore's pre-banquet "press" conference.
When Lon Mabon -- who was present, of course -- was hailed as a hero. When several "reporters" futilely begged Moore to endorse an amendment to the Constitution banning same-sex marriage. ("You can't amend the Constitution for every moral deficit," he replied.)
When Moore explained his political theology in terms of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and a snappy conversation between Alice of Wonderland fame and Humpty Dumpty.
I'm afraid I can't do that theology justice. Neither can Washington nor Jefferson, which is why Moore kept interrupting the Founding Fathers to apologize that they wrote and spoke in what "sounds like a foreign language."
But I think the theory goes that our rights come from a creator God and government draws its power from us. Thus, society, the state or the courts have no right to suggest that we can't acknowledge God, whether we are inside the closets into which Jesus orders us to pray, or parading through courthouses and classrooms.
Moore's message was well received in a room where the ACLU lawyers representing Planned Parenthood were described as "Satan's servants." Where foam blocks labeled "Department of Education," "Open Borders and Amnesty," "Printing Press Money," and, yes, even the "U.S. Patriot Act" were tossed into the Trash Can of History.
Where Bob Ekstrom, state chairman of the Constitution Party, said, "Justice Moore finds himself in the middle of the white-hot heat," and I turned around, looking for the klieg lights.
Did I say well received? I meant to say "celebrated." And once again, maybe it was the timing. I still live in the strange place where evangelicals celebrate two things and two things only: Jesus and new arrivals at the foot of his cross.
Those hoopin' and hollerin' for Roy S. Moore under the banner of "Life, Liberty and Limited Government" have a different mind-set.
I saw some dear friends in the crowd at this curious crossroads of the Bible and the Constitution. Although it's hard to understand why they -- or anyone else, for that matter -- are seeking justice or consolation in the world of politics, it's easy to wish them peace of mind and the freedom to worship and to believe what they want.
But when I left the room and once again traversed the twilight zone, I wondered how much freedom they would accord those who, with an equal passion, choose to believe otherwise.
Steve Duin: 503-221-8597; Steveduin@aol.com; 1320 S.W. Broadway, Portland, OR 97201
He didn't say anything negative about the President.
The entire speech was about whether "the state" can acknowlege God, as our forefathers clearly did.
He did show a short clip of Mark Prior, asking Judge Moore if he would continue to acknowlege God, if he were to continue as Chief Justice.
Mr. Moore confirmed that he would. For that terrible crime, he was removed from the bench.
Mr Duin looks completely ugly here. But the general (uninformed) public will buy this story, hook, line, and sinker.
free the southland,sw
Mr. Moore confirmed that he would. For that terrible crime, he was removed from the bench.
Actually Moore was removed for refusing to obey a federal court order, not for acknowledging God.
So Bush wants to take more decisive action on gay marriage than Moore does?
Moore's milking his 15 minutes for all the money and exposure that it's worth.
When several "reporters" futilely begged Moore to endorse an amendment to the Constitution banning same-sex marriage.("You can't amend the Constitution for every moral deficit," he replied.)
Good line.. -- Moores obviously a rational man when he isn't carried away by pandering to political ambitions.
Yes. A Federal Court telling a state court it doesn't have the right to display the Ten Commandments. Where is that, in the Constitution?
Moore took a stand, and paid the price for his conviction. He wound up with hundreds of thousands in legal expenses, and lost his job, because of his religious conviction: A conviction of saying he would acknowlege God in his courtroom, just as Congress does, and the Supreme Court does, at the start of every day.
Probably. He doesn't like the federal government. It's clear he doesn't agree with the 14th amendment, so maybe he's fuzzy on what "full, faith and credit" means.
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