Remember that ‘Cross in the Desert’

(10PM EST – promoted by Nightprowlkitty)

The one recently in the headlines, as it was stolen after a Supreme Court ruling about the placement on public land.

Well:

Anonymous letter explaining cross theft sent to Desert Dispatch

contacted the Desert Dispatch newsroom at around 4 p.m. Tuesday.

Snip

We are passing along this information in the hopes of illuminating what might have happened:

The Desert Dispatch gives a brief description of receiving as well as not having any knowledge if what was said was authentic as to who removed the cross, but they do post the entire statement, as I will in the nature of a press release.

1. The cross in question was not vandalized. It was simply moved. This was done lovingly and with great care.

2. The cross has been carefully preserved. It has not been destroyed as many have assumed.

3. I am a Veteran.

4. A small non-sectarian monument was brought to place at the site but technical difficulties prevented this from happening at the time the cross was moved to its new location.

5. The cross was erected illegally on public land in 1998 by a private individual named Henry Sandoz. Since then the government has actively worked to promote the continued existence of the cross, even as it excluded other monuments from differing religions. This favoritism and exclusion clearly violates the establishment clause of the US Constitution.

6. Anthony Kennedy desecrated and marginalized the memory and sacrifice of all those non-Christians that died in WWI when he wrote: ‘Here one Latin cross in the desert evokes far more than religion. It evokes thousands of small crosses in foreign fields marking the graves of Americans who fell in battles – battles whose tragedies are compounded if the fallen are forgotten.’ The irony and tragedy of that statement is unique.

7. Justice Kennedy’s words in particular and others like them from the other Justices caused me to act.

8. At the time of its removal there was nothing to identify the cross as a memorial of any kind, and the simple fact of the matter is that the only thing it represented was an oddly placed tribute to Christ. This cross evoked nothing of the sort that Justice Kennedy writes of, it was in the end simply a cross in the desert.

9. Discrimination in any form is intolerable, as is hatred.

10. Discrimination or hatred based upon religion should be despised by all Americans, and offering that this event was caused by hatred or malice is simply ignorance of the actual intent.

11. Despite what many people are saying, this act was definitively not anti-Christian. It was instead anti-discrimination. If this act was anti-Christian, the cross would not have been cared for so reverently. An anti-Christian response would have been to simply destroy the cross and leave the pieces in the desert.

12. We as a nation need to change the dialogue and stop pretending that this is about a war memorial. If it is a memorial, then we need to stop arguing about the cross and instead place a proper memorial on that site, one that respects Christians and non-Christians alike, and one that is actually recognizable as a war memorial.

13. If an appropriate and permanent non-sectarian memorial is placed at the site the cross will be immediately returned to Mr. Sandoz.

14. Alternatively, if a place can be found that memorializes the Christian Veterans of WWI that is not on public land the Cross will promptly be forwarded with care and reverence for installation at the private site.

15. In short this has happened because as Abraham Lincoln said: ‘To stand in silence when they should be protesting makes cowards out of men.’ Perhaps this was an inappropriate form of protest  if so I humbly request your forgiveness and understanding for the actions that I have taken here.”

I haven’t a clue as to anything about this cross, live across the country from, never paid any attention if it had ever made the news before, but if I was near there and what’s given in the statement is indeed actual and fact, I would have been right there helping, Totally Agree with all that’s stated above!

I will make a guess as to who might be involved. My Brother Vietnam Veterans, for many of us feel exactly the same way as to issues of this nature, and so should all military and veterans of as well as the Country as a whole, Especially the Supreme Court!

2 comments

  1. And from the Country that Cheers on Wars of Choice and rarely questions the Ever Increasing Defense Budgets and doesn’t even blink when corruption surfaces from:

    DOD Struggles With Health Care Costs, VA Faces Challenges In Providing Care


    May 11, 2010 Defense Secretary Robert Gate spoke about the need to control soaring defense costs, especially health care expenses, while Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki responded to several health care challenges facing veterans’ health care.

    In a speech in Abilene, Kan., marking the 65th anniversary of the end of the World War II in Europe, “Gates said this weekend the Pentagon is going to have to start living at least closer to its means,” Marketplace reports. Gates is quoted as saying: “Leaving aside the sacred obligation we have to America’s wounded warriors, health care costs are eating the Defense Department alive. The Pentagon spends $50 billion a year on health care — more than double what it did 10 years ago. Continued

    And a typical side note, talking funding:

    Union gives $50K for Vietnam Vets Memorial grounds

    A labor union is pledging $50,000 for upkeep of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial grounds on the National Mall.

    Snip

    Last year, the private foundation that built the memorial took over landscaping and maintenance of the site from the National Park Service. Officials said they were moved to act after reading an Associated Press investigative story on the lack of federal money for the mall, despite needed repairs. Continued

  2. Very nice essay.

    I heard about the disappearance of the cross.

    Now this brings it full circle.

    I like the principles the writer has towards the symbol that does not belong where it was.

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