The Supreme Court has decided that Texas' Ten Commandments display on the lawn of the capitol is A-OK:
(A) 6-foot-granite monument on the grounds of the Texas Capitol - one of 17 historical displays on the 22-acre lot - was determined to be a legitimate tribute to the nation's legal and religious history.From my reading of the article, it seems they decided that they can't make an overall ruling on this, that it will be done on a case-by-case basis. This monument doesn't really offend us, but we do find it strange that it sits on the lawn amongst monuments to confederate soldiers, and our favorite of the capitol monuments, the fireman and the baby. We do wonder what this ruling means for our increasingly conservative nation. Let's not forget that all of our founding fathers were not exactly Christians."Of course, the Ten Commandments are religious - they were so viewed at their inception and so remain. The monument therefore has religious significance," Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist wrote for the majority in the case involving the display outside the state capitol of Texas.
"Simply having religious content or promoting a message consistent with a religious doctrine does not run afoul of the Establishment clause," he said. [Myway: AP news]
case-by-case basis . . . I think more tourists might be interested in taking pics by a Texas Buddha monument, though. That would so rock.
A big Texas Buddha would so rock. I'm thinking Boss Hogg-esque (yeah he's not Texan, but I'm leaning towards his likeness) with a huge cowboy hat, cigar, and some kick-ass spurs. The spurs maybe overboard, but personally I think they would add just the right amount of Texification. But make sure the cigar isn't real and if it is keep the flag away from it, we don't need a possible constitutional violation on our hands.
My boss' dog almost peed on it once. That wouldn't have been good.
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But does this mean that we can erect a nice statue of Buddha on the Capital grounds? Or is it still Christian only...