As reported in the op-ed pages of the Wall Street Journal, the ACLU has won a federal appellate case that would require the removal of a six-foot tall cross erected in 1934 by WWI veterans to honor their fallen comrades from land designated a national preserve in 1994. The memorial is currently maintained by private citizens. Naturally, some old soldiers honoring their forebears with a cross has been interpreted as the establishment of religion in America. The pettiness and opportunism of such suits is striking. A desolate monument designed to honor brave men who died for this country should not be allowed to exist, simply because it uses the same religious symbol that can be found in Arlington National Cemetary to honor fallen soldiers of wars and deceased political figures. God forbid a person should be forced to see a religious symbol that our fellow citizens deem meaningful and erect in honor of their friends and loved ones on property that the government annexed 60 years after the erection of the monument. Additionally, as the Wall Street journal notes, the ACLU has cashed in on private citizens to the tune of $60,000+ by bringing this suit. Who knew that banishing all traces of religion from the public square could be so profitable? The establishment clause is designed to prevent a state church and government coercion designed to promote a particular faith. This monument is neither, but sadly our establishment clause jurisprudence is in such disarray that the ruling has a good chance of standing.
(Nod to the "Galley Slaves" weblog for pointing this story out)
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