"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge..." - Old Testament
I was sitting here drinking coffee Saturday morning, surfing around the Net, looking for anything exciting going on in the news, and ended up reading an Israeli paper before I recognized the silence. No Arnold. No California recall. No Wesley Clark. No mass of candidates and complaints. No screaming dramas, as they say, and then suddenly, this little thought popped into my head. (My mind had been going back through the files of memory like one of those microfilm machines on high speed reverse, came to a screeching halt, tapped forward a couple of times, and there it was!)
Where is Chief Justice Roy S. Moore, and what is he doing these days?
So I got busy trying to find out. On these self-appointed rounds, I ran into a few things that knocked my hat in the creek. One was an article titled ‘“Rights talk” is the Wrong Talk’ - Ten Commandments Controvery and the EU’s Constitutional Debate by Gladden J. Pappin, Editor Emeritus, The Harvard Salient. Now, I have to admit, I would be the first to say that it is entirely possible that I have never been in agreement with anyone from Harvard, but I read this article, word for word, sentence to sentence, paragraph by paragraph, section across section. Some of it twice. It’s all there. And, it is well said.
Talking about rights separates people. Talking about human goods – service, charity, goodwill toward men – the human nature of kindness, honor, and sharing - these are the things that unify. America has a great nature about her, however, she is empowered with the freedom to make life a debate or an understanding.
So, in light of that, I set out to find out just exactly what is on Roy’s rock. Taking into consideration the outcry’s of brandishing Christianity, I expected to find a simple declaration of the Ten Commandments. Understanding that America was founded by Christians, the argument that a Christian associated emblem or script was inappropriate display for a Government facility under the laws of the Constitution never really set well with me. Tolerance for other religious beliefs is something that America abides as well.
To my great surprise, these are The Monument inscriptions:
TOP PANEL
"Ten Commandments" excerpts
FRONT PANEL
The inclusion of God in our pledge therefore would further acknowledge the dependence of our people and our government upon the moral directions of the Creator. —Legislative History
One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. —Pledge of Allegiance, 1954
Human law must rest its authority ultimately upon the authority of that law which is divine. —James Wilson
And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? —Thomas Jefferson
LEFT SIDE PANEL
Let it simply be asked, where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths which are the instruments of investigation in courts of justice? —George Washington
So help me God. —Judiciary Act of 1789
The greater part of evidence will always consist of the testimony of witnesses. This testimony is given under those solemn obligations which an appeal to the God of Truth impose; and if oaths should cease to be held sacred, our dearest and most valuable rights would become insecure. —John Jay
BACK PANEL
We, the people of the State of Alabama, in order to establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, invoking the favor and guidance of Almighty God, do ordain and establish the following constitution and form of government for the State of Alabama. —Constitution of Alabama
In God we trust. —National Motto 1956
O thus be it ever when freemen shall stand
between their lov'd home and the war's desolation!
Blest with vict'ry and peace may the heav'n rescued land
praise the power that hath made and preserv'd us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto — "In God Is Our Trust,"
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave. —National Anthem
RIGHT SIDE PANEL
The laws of nature are the laws of God; whose authority can be superseded by no power on earth. —George Mason 1772
Laws of nature and of nature's God —Declaration of Independence 1776
The transcendent law of nature and of nature's God, which declares that the safety and happiness of society are the objects at which all political institutions aim, and to which all such institutions must be sacrificed. —James Madison
This law of nature, being co-eval with mankind and dictated by God Himself, is of course superior in obligation to any other. It is binding over all the globe, in all countries, and at all times: no human laws are of any validity, if contrary to this; …upon these two foundations, the law of nature and the law of revelation, depend all human laws; that is to say, no human laws should be suffered to contradict these. —William Blackstone
From the mouths and pens of many along the road of maturity for this nation, there have been, and continue to be, references to God. It is not with these that men have determined to oppress any being in this land, but to herald the basis from which the nation has drawn her strength. There can be no argument that would eliminate that fact.
Roy S. Moore commissioned a sculpture for the Rotunda in Alabama, which depicts not only his own perspective, but the perspective of leaders since the first landing on this soil, and before. He brought to all, a work of art that highlights the law and it’s guidance in America. He brought a vision of historical value that should not be shamed by draping the naked truth. It, instead, should have been supported and regaled as a testament to our very roots. It seeks not to deter any soul, and forces none to forego their own beliefs.
The final discovery on this journey was the awakening of a rumor, past. The people are beginning to speak softly among themselves, and a few are writing words of encouragement. It is being tossed about that Judge Roy Moore may run for the Senate. The US Senate.
That would be a nice Rotunda for a work of art.