Well. We know who wins whenever states butt heads with the federal government. We know, for one thing, who controls the B-52s and paratroop divisions.
Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore is a goner for sure. The might, majesty, dominion and power of the government in Washington will cause his granite monument to the Ten Commandments -- all 5,280 pounds of it -- to be confiscated and whisked away before you can say Charlton Heston. Ostensibly, this is to keep the wall of church-state separation in good repair. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals says no way can the chief justice embed a thing like the Ten Commandments in -- gasp! -- a public venue such as the Alabama Judicial Building.
The question before the house is not whether Judge Moore will prevail in his confrontation with the might, majesty, etc., of the national government. The question is whether he deserves to prevail.
The answer: You bet he deserves to prevail. With bells on.
What a balmy topic for public debate: May a state acknowledge the priority of God in its legal and constitutional undertakings?
The founding fathers certainly thought so, if that's of interest. The First Amendment forbids establishment of a national religion; likewise, it protects the free exercise of religion. Neither provision can be seen as a veiled attempt to force God to the periphery of national life.
Thomas Jefferson's famous metaphor -- "a wall of separation between church and state" -- is a mere, if fetching, figure of speech, lacking constitutional standing. Nor was Jefferson himself an absolute separationist, as are those who chivvy Judge Moore.
Alabama's chief justice has created a scandal (it would seem) by the public assertion of a connection between divine and human justice -- the kind of connection taken for granted up to the last 40 years or so. Secularists go limp and cover their eyes. Then, they call their lawyers. (Three lawyers, in league with the Southern Poverty Law Center, are pushing this dumb suit.)
What's the beef? All that God stuff in the commandments: keeping the Sabbath holy, taking divine names in vain, and so on. Continued... |