Freedom From Religion Foundation Goes After Popular Spur, Texas Cross

You know that feeling right now that many of you are having? That "why can't they just leave our religion alone" feeling? That's the same, "why can't they read our constitution" feeling that I get.

Let's be honest: the Spur, Texas cross in Swenson Park has been in place for a long time, but the world is getting smaller. The cross was never a legal thing; it just flew under the radar. You just can't have that kind of thing on land that was paid for by all tax payers.

Maybe you haven't noticed, but there are no complaints about crosses on churches, even those big telephone poll ones. Well, in August (but the news is just now getting around) the Freedom From Religion Foundation asked that the cross be taken down.

"The religious significance of the Latin cross is unambiguous and indisputable," FFRF Senior Staff Attorney Rebecca Markert wrote to Spur Mayor Steven Bland. "A majority of federal courts have held displays of Latin crosses on public property to be an unconstitutional endorsement of religion. Many of these cases involve the display of Latin crosses in public parks."

Reaction by the locals pretty much tells you everything you need to know. They want to blame the problem on "outsiders" who've moved into their little tiny house boom. (Spur legalized tiny houses; I really didn't know they weren't legal everywhere.)

Then, there are the screams of 'this is a Christian nation!' Think about this: Many of the founding fathers were Christian, but some weren't. Even they thought it was important to separate church and state. They went against their own self-interests for what they thought was the greater good. That is the Christian way. I'm sorry some folks who go to church just don't understand that.

It's simple. The city of Spur should just sell the land to a private owner, or move the cross to private land. No biggie. The cross will still be there, everyone can still see it and no one is breaking the law.

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