Originally posted by: herm0016
Originally posted by: Atomic Playboy
Originally posted by: herm0016
so everyone here that is against this is for destroying all publicly owned art with any religious theme? including many of the nations capital and public buildings, national monuments, grave sites. places like Arlington National Cemetery (its full of crosses), historical churches that are owned by state and national parks, any Church on any public property including churches weather in use or not in national parks, state parks, etc? this is what you are advocating. that no religious symbols can come in contact with any government agency for any reason, whether that be history or education, preservation or conservation.
I don't know exactly how this one got started, but it's complete bullshit; Arlington is NOT full of crosses.
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And surely you can recognize the difference between honoring a fallen soldier in the manner they've requested versus spending tax money on a symbol which specifically endorses one religion.
i should have said: crosses and other religious symbols paid for by your tax dollars, I know the gravestones are not crosses. I love how everyone automatically assumes people are idiots, though, in most cases it is true.
my point was more about art, the fact that lots of art has religious content, and the states and localities have paid tax money for it, to display it, in their offices and museums and such. should all of this be sold back or just gotten rid of also? what about states rights, i remember that being a very important part of our constitution, a part that is rarely cited now, and i believe this is one of our fundamental problems, the aggregation of power in the federal government.
the 10th amendment states: The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
they are not "establishing" a religion. if the majority of the people in the town were Jewish, and they wanted to put up a menorah, they can do that too. just like abortion, education, gay marriage, and a host of other issues, this is a local government issue.
the first amendment says:
Congress shall make no
law respecting an establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
local governments are not congress. a statue or piece of art is not a law and thus not covered also.