"if the land where the cross currently stands was transferred to private hands, the issue might go away."
Wrong. The ACLU launches cases on the "percieved" or "possible" discomfort of atheists or people of other religions.
You put a cross on private land, and as long as it's able to be seen by people, you will one day land in court. If I can see it, I can sue it.
Why should a high school football stadium's 1000 people say the pledge of allegiance, mentioning "God," when that might offend the two atheists, three muslims and one hindu who might be driving by at 90 miles an hour?
You are aware of course that some people of some religions tend to get very selfish and brain-blind about these things? If it's going on, it must somehow offend them. Forget that they're in a Christian nation, founded by Christians, based on Christian precepts, and that is majority-Christian. If I were to go to Jerusalem, as Roman Catholic, would I have the right to complain about how I was a teeny weeny minority, and my religious sensibility was offended?
Before you launch on their constitution versus ours, know two things: It's very much like ours...because it was based on ours.
Welcome to my country. If you would like to join any of thousands of Christian churches we have, come on in! If you choose to honor no god whatsoever, we'll pray for you just the same. If you want to continue practicing a non-Christian religion, by all means, welcome to these safe shores--we lead the world in religious tolerance! (not counting Christian-bashing). And if you want to drop that religion and pick up a Christian one, fine. If you're a Christian immigrant or native born, and want to switch to something more attractive, go for it--even if it's nonChristian.
We don't care. We honor you. We have--and will again--lay down our lives to protect this fundamental right.
But don't tell me the shopkeeper can't have any "religious" holiday message, no matter how generic, in his window, because some pussy minority with no respect for the rights and feelings of others--yeah, some selfish little snot--is "offended" when he walks by on the "public" (therefore, the government) sidewalk. That's not where we're going--that's where we are. The ACLU has already brought such cases.
Next time, I won't hold back, so you can tell how I really feel.
Has anyone called you on stoking this thread as you have, and you've only been registered less than a week. Troll, methinks.