The tone is medieval, as is the instinct that finds the devil in the innocent. The American Civil Liberties Union hunts down the witch, the ninth Ten Commandments monument donated in Utah by the Fraternal Order of Eagles decades ago. Eight of these have been located, but the last has eluded the inquisition. Seven have been moved from public property pursuant to the ACLU's crusade and the eighth is on its way. "Please go visit your local public parks and city buildings to see if the monument is there," the ACLU petitions on its Web site. The ACLU says it is standing on principle. We find it obnoxious. We are among the harshest critics of religious belief transformed into prohibitions on private conduct. We supported the U.S. Supreme Court when it struck down the Texas anti-sodomy law. A Ten Commandments monument, however, is neither a government order to act or to refrain from acting -- or believe or refrain from believing. Thus, the U.S. District Court ruling preserving a plaque on the Allegheny County Courthouse was correct. These monuments are no "establishment of religion," the true words of the First Amendment. The oft-used phrase "separation of church and state" is not found in the Bill of Rights. It is a falsehood wielded with an antipathy against an acknowledged connection between the rule of law and belief in a higher power.

---

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)

---