It seems to me that the central issue in the Ten Commandments monuments controversy is not: Why do some people want them moved from public property?, but rather: Why are some people so vehement about insisting that they remain there?
No one is asking that these monuments be destroyed, only that they be moved to private land. Those who are insisting that they must remain on public property are indicating that they feel that their religious traditions must be a part of our government, and that is definitely unconstitutional.
Some have said that the commandments should remain because they form the foundation on which our laws are based. That may be true for some of the commandments. However, a document that begins "I am the Lord thy God, thou shalt have no other gods before me" is clearly a religious document, and, in fact, one that is taken from a specific religious tradition.
In America we have the freedom to choose which religion, if any, we want to belong to. The fact that there are so many different places of worship proves that that is true. But these are private institutions. Our public places must be totally secular, so that every resident will feel secure that he is equal in the eyes of the government, no matter what his or she believes.
Carol Sawicki
9/1/03