Ted Cruz and Kelly Shackelford Special contributors
From the first musket shots at Lexington and Concord American patriots have fought to defend liberty. We rightly memorialize our fallen soldiers and remember their sacrifices that have kept us all safe.
And yet Wednesday the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in Salazar v. Buono on whether a 75-year-old veterans memorial in the Mojave Desert should be destroyed.
The memorial a cross 5 to 8 feet tall was erected in 1934 by World War I veterans to honor their fallen brethren. In 2001 the American Civil Liberties Union filed suit demanding that the memorial be destroyed. It claimed that the crosss presence within the 1.6 million acre Mojave Desert violated the peoples right to avoid religious symbols.
A federal judge in California agreed and ordered that a plywood covering be constructed to shield onlookers while the case was on appeal. And so this memorial dedicated to those who fought tyranny and oppression is covered in wood simply because the monument takes the shape of a cross.
This case is part of a growing pattern. Like lawsuits seeking to strike down the Pledge of Allegiance or to remove In God we trust from our currency the ACLUs lawsuit is based on a profound misconception of our Constitution. Our nation was formed by brave men and women fighting to protect the religious liberty of every individual and nothing in the Constitution compels government hostility to God or religious faith.
Just four years ago the State of Texas faced a similar legal assault. An atheist filed a lawsuit demanding the removal of the Ten Commandments monument that has stood on the Capitol grounds for more than four decades. Texas defended that case at the U.S. Supreme Court Attorney General Greg Abbott argued the case himself and won a landmark 5-4 victory that should be the model for resolving the Mojave Desert lawsuit.
Yet much more is at stake in this case than a single memorial in a California desert. If the Supreme Court allows this memorial to be destroyed if the ACLU prevails and the image of a cross can never be allowed on public land it could presage the destruction of thousands of similar monuments and memorials nationwide including the Argonne Cross in Arlington National Cemetery. That is not what our Constitution requires. The Constitution protects our religious liberty; it does not demand that we scour the public square to remove any reference to the Almighty.
The men and women honored by this memorial gave their last measure of devotion to preserve our right to free speech and religious expression. They deserve our honor and admiration not a plywood sheath marring their memory.
This unfortunate condition however has only strengthened the resolve of those willing to fight for our liberties including members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars the American Legion the Military Order of the Purple Heart American Ex-Prisoners of War and veterans across the nation. Many of these veterans are touring the country to protect the memorial. One summarized it this way: We are here now to fight to keep that little bit of hope standing.
Henry and Wanda Sandoz have been the memorials caretakers since 1984.
Wanda Sandoz recently observed: Its very important just to keep the memorial. We love our country. We appreciate our veterans and everything they do to keep our country free. Where would we be without them?
These memorials embody the very best traditions of our nation and our Constitution. No decision of the Supreme Court has ever suggested that those hallowed memorials are unconstitutional.
In 1787 our Constitution was written to secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity. The Supreme Court in this case has an opportunity to preserve this promise.
Cruz is a former solicitor general of Texas and a Republican candidate for Texas attorney general. Shackelford is the founder and chief counsel of Liberty Legal Institute in Plano. They represent the Veterans of Foreign Wars the American Legion the Military Order of the Purple Heart and American Ex-Prisoners of War as amici curiae in Salazar v. Buono.
http://www.statesman.com/search/content/editorial/stories/2009/10/08/1008monument_edit.html
