When Do I Get to be Offended?

Heard about this last night in Steve's American Legion Magazine and felt compelled to share it.

Supreme Court to hear Mojave Desert Memorial Cross case - Topix:
"May 19, 2009
Supreme Court to hear Mojave Desert Memorial Cross case
On May 29th, the Supreme Court will hear the case of “Salazar vs. Buono” which will determine the fate of a 75 yr old cross erected by WW I Veterans atop Sunrise Rock, in what is now the Mojave Desert Preserve. Originally erected on land which was open range land, and free to public use; the cross was erected in memorial to those Veterans who’ve died serving their Country in war. However, since its inclusion in a 1994 land Federalization move by the Clinton administration, the presence of the cross has come under fire from the ACLU, which maintains it constitutes a Government endorsement of religion. At stake is the future of all such “religious displays” which occupy, or may soon occupy federalized lands. Defenders of the cross monument argue that both the antiquity, and the intent of the display do nothing to promote any religious group over another, but merely respectfully acknowledges the supreme sacrifice paid by so many Veterans in defense of the Nation. The use of a cross is an innocuous accommodation to the reality that most of those veterans were adherents to one form of Christian faith or another, and not an advocacy of Christianity itself. Filing suit against the display is a former Nation Park Service worker Frank Buono, who now resides in Oregon, far from the offending display. The precedent set in this case may well affect all such displays deemed “religious”, and in violation of the current interpretation of the “establishment clause”. Will Arlington National Cemetery be next…? The Washington Memorial?"


This is the Memorial/Cross in question. Until the case is heard it is being covered with a plywood box.

This whole thing has got me wondering...When is it my turn to be offended? I deal with lots of non-Christian things and manage not to be offended. If seeing this memorial offends you, I'm sorry, but to bad. Can't you just deal with it. I deal with seeing the word bastard on a movie marque. I deal with watching erectile dysfunction ads on every commercial break. I deal with being treated like a drug addict when I buy allergies medicine or canned air. I deal with calling it Winter Break instead of Christmas Vacation. Granted these are not all religious issues, but offensive to me non the less. Well, I am offended. Offended that my religious freedom only extends to pre-approved times and places. Who gets to decide who's civil liberties we protect. By protecting Mr. Buono's civil liberty to not to be offended by a memorial thousands of miles from his home; don't you violate thousands of veterans civil liberties to be honored by it?

Be offended with me. I don't begrudge people there religious beliefs or symbols. I just don't want to have to give up mine either. Do we really want to homogenize our country to the point where we have no symbols, no signs of any belief system? It is wrong to protect one persons religious beliefs by violating the beliefs of another.

If you want to read the whole article click here.

Thanks for reading.