The Great Lakes Justice Center just filed a legal brief in the U.S. Supreme Court defending the Cross.
Cross Memorializes WWI Fallen
The Bladensburg WWI Memorial is a 40-foot-tall concrete Christian cross standing on a large pedestal. The words “VALOR,” “ENDURANCE,” “COURAGE,” and “DEVOTION” are inscribed at its base.
The pedestal’s large plaque, states the monument is “DEDICATED TO THE HEROES OF PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY, MARYLAND WHO LOST THEIR LIVES IN THE GREAT WAR FOR THE LIBERTY OF THE WORLD.” The plaque records the 49 local men who died in WWI, indicates dates of American involvement in the war, and quotes President Wilson’s address to Congress requesting a declaration of war.
Leftists Contend Cross Unconstitutional
Leftists challenge the memorial cross, contending that it violates the Establishment Clause. The Establishment Clause States that Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion. The Great Lakes Justice Center filed a legal brief in the SCOTUS yesterday opposing the Leftist attack on the cross.
The Cross Does not Violate the Constitution
Because the cross was not a law establishing a national religion, the cross did not violate the plain meaning of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. The Justice Center asks the Supreme Court to rule accordingly.
It is hubris to deny our heritage. The men and women who fought in World War I offered up their lives to preserve the values of liberty, equality, freedom of speech, and freedom of religion. We enjoy those blessings because of their sacrifice. Our debt to them is too vast to be repaid.
Their fellow citizens chose to honor them and the values they served with a memorial in the shape of a cross. It was a sign of the high honor the living believed that the fallen had earned. In fact, they knew no higher form of honor than the symbol of Christ’s sacrifice.
We, too, should honor the choices our forebears made – the choices they made to serve — and the choices they made to honor such service. Whether we agree with all of their choices is not the issue. They suffered through that time of sacrifice. Their survivors rebuilt the nation we now enjoy. They have earned our respect. Both their sacrifices and their choices about memorializing their deeds are our legacy. To deny either of those is to deny who we are – to believe we can make ourselves ex nihilo. It is hubris.
To read the brief we filed in the Supreme Court, click here.