J. Randy Forbes - The Controversial Cross at Ground Zero
It stood for weeks, a symbol to many of the loss and pain a city had endured, and of hope that would carry them through. The Ground Zero cross is now a part of the National September 11 Memorial and Museum, which officially opened to the public on May 21, but its inclusion in the museum as a historical artifact that had great significance for the first responders, rescue workers, and volunteers from that great tragedy has not gone unchallenged. #ad#The Ground Zero cross was moved from the rubble and displayed near Ground Zero until July 23, 2011, when it was transferred to the September 11 Memorial and Museum in New York City. A group swiftly filed a lawsuit, arguing that the cross does not belong in a public museum and demanding that it be removed. A federal district court dismissed the case, stating that “no reasonable observer would view the artifact as endorsing Christianity.” The case was appealed and heard by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in March 2014, and a final decision is pending. The Ground Zero cross is just one example of the many legal challenges that have threatened memorials around the country. Another memorial — the Mount Soledad Cross in California — has been the center of a legal battle for more than 20 years. The cross was dedicated in 1953 to honor those who gave their lives in World War I, World War II, and the Korean War. Many, including members of Congress, have risen to defend the cross, but the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the cross was unconstitutional. The fate of the cross has been appealed to the Supreme Court. One of the most recent challenges has arisen in Maryland, where a roadside cross known as the Memorial Peace Cross, built in 1925, honors the men from Prince George’s County who gave their lives to defend freedom in World War I. The plaintiffs who are challenging the cross state in their complaint that the cross upsets them and that they do not wish to see it in the future. What is it that makes memorial crosses — erected to honor the memories of soldiers, victims, and many others — so controversial? They are controversial because they offend a few, despite the fact that they have great meaning to many who know they are built to give our thanks to all who served. Though many of these memorials have stood for decades, only recently have they become the subject of constitutional controversy. In upholding the constitutionality of one such memorial in 2010, in Salazar v. Buono, Justice Kennedy, writing for the Supreme Court, noted: [A] Latin cross . . . is a symbol often used to honor and respect those whose heroic acts, noble contributions, and patient striving help secure an honored place in history for this Nation and its people. 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. As the Supreme Court affirmed this May, the Establishment Clause protects Americans from government-coerced religion. The Constitution has never promised the right not to be offended by another — such a ridiculous standard would turn the protections of the First Amendment on their head. If offense is truly our litmus test, then we must not only forgo the freedom of religious expression but also supporting our favorite sports teams, robustly debating public policy, and discussing various theories of the origin of the universe. We live in a pluralistic society that encompasses a great diversity of beliefs. The protection of that diversity depends on our ability to maintain a cultural and legal structure that protects and encourages the expression of many different beliefs. These memorial crosses honor the fallen — not a few or most, but all — and they must be protected. — J. Randy Forbes represents Virginia’s fourth congressional district in the House of Representatives.
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