Tuesday - May 11, 2010

Who really cares about a pipe in the Mojave Desert?

Apparently, someone does.  A cross that has stood in the desert for 75 years, seen by almost no one, erected as a memorial to the men who died in the First World War, has been destroyed by vandals, and is now missing.  The cross has been subjected to a long running legal battle between people who want to tear it down as a symbol of state sponsored religion.

I'm as thoroughly atheist as anyone can be, but why does anyone care about this?  How many people are influenced by a section of pipe hundreds of miles from where anyone can see it?

For those worried about the symbolism of a cross being erected on public property, the link to the government was removed by selling the property to a private party.  Do these vandals (including the vandals working through the court system) intend to destroy every cross erected in federal cemeteries?

Some issues are simply too stupid to fight over.  Freedom of religion doesn't mean that I cannot be exposed to any religious symbol during the course of my life.  

These people are demented.  Live and let live, and get over the petty things.  

If this cross were erected last year on the Mall in Washington, DC, as a reminder of christianity's power over our politicians, then there's something to complain about.  A cross in the middle of nowhere as a memorial to those who died in a war 90 years ago, erected 75 years ago, that maybe 25 people a year will ever see is not something to complain about.

The only reason to complain about this cross is for a judicial war of attrition.  That is, the judicial vandals are hoping that their political opponents will spend their time and money and emotion on this stupid memorial and not spend time on important issues. 

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