Many of you might have heard about the United States Supreme Court weighing in on the Establishment Clause of the United States Constitution as it might apply to a large cross in the Mojave National Preserve.
The cross was built after World War I to honor the fallen soldiers. Since a cross is internationally recognized as a symbol of Christianity, and since I'm sure more than just Christian soldiers died in World War I, I've never understood why a Christian cross was used to honor all soldiers. If I remember correctly, the military uses boots, rifle, and a helmet to honor its fallen, which seems much more fitting for soldiers of all religions, or no religion.
Personally, I like the Establishment Clause because I really don't want to live in a religious theocracy like Iran, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, and others. I love my religious friends, and if they want to build a huge cross on their land, as long as it meets the zoning requirements, go for it. But when any religious symbol shows up on public land, to the exclusion of all other religious symbols, I do have a problem with that.
In the case of the Mojave cross, a group wanted to build a Muslim shrine near it but was refused by the National Park Service, which resulted in the lawsuit.
Here in San Diego, we have our own version of the Mojave cross called the Mount Soledad cross.
The land used to be city land until a lawsuit resulted in the City giving just the small piece of land that the cross actually sits on to a private veterans group. Courts found that to be an end-run around the Constitution and voided it. Since 1994, San Diego citizens have voted several times on what to do with the Mount Soledad cross, and each time the Court found the decision to be less than satisfactory.
Finally, a few years ago, a couple of our Congressional representatives got legislation passed transferring the city land to the federal government, which doesn't really resolve the issue with the Establishment Clause and the separate of church and state. All it does is make it a federal issue instead of a city issue, a good thing since the City of San Diego cannot afford the legal fees, what with a $2 billion pension deficit and an annual budget deficit now over $200 million.
The end-run tactics to save the Mojave cross are exactly the same as those used to save the Mount Soldedad cross, so it might be interesting to hear how the United States Supreme Court rules next Spring.
Of course, there is a very easy solution to this problem: Simply remove the cross arms and make it a memorial obelisk, similar to the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C.
Those are my thoughts, and my solution, and I'm sticking with them. For views of forever from the top of Mount Soledad, click here.
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While I am a strict constitutionalist, I sometimes think we go a bit too far in reacting to religious iconography like this cross. The cross is surely a christian symbol, but it is not there to symbolize christianity, its there to honor the dead who gave their lives in service to their country. Was it the wisest choice for a memorial? Probably not. But we cannot go around constantly tearing down every religious artifact that may or may not have represented the religious views of every individual its supposed to honor.
Jason Burkins