Volume II No. 13
 11-17-03
 Dumping Justice Roy S. Moore
 author: Vance Cureton
 © Copyright 2003

 The obscene spectacle that has been going on in the state of Alabama
 is at long last over. -- At least for the moment. Chief Justice Roy S. Moore
 is now former justice Moore, as he has been officially removed from the 
 bench by a unanimous vote of the Court of the Judiciary of Alabama. 
 A deserved consequence for deliberately defying a court order to remove
 the so-called "Ten Commandments Monument" from  the Alabama State
 Judiciary building.

 Alabama deserves much better than this embarassing interlude where 
 one throwback "politician" thinks it his Christian duty to use a public
 office of great distinction as a bully pulpit to evangelize to the unclean
 and the unwashed. And who uses the cry of "States Rights" as if the 
 Civil War ended only yesterday. Or as if some federal army lying in wait
 on the borders of Alabama were set to invade the sovereign enclave
 if any federal judicial ruling were ever defied by the people of Alabama.

 This is nonsense.

 America is one nation. North and South. East and West. Federal and
 State. And God Bless that wonderful banner the Stars and Stripes, 
 which represents us all.

 The Unitied States of America is also a historically Christian nation.
 And Christianity flourishes from coast to coast. Millions of Americans
 attend church as Sunday is a quiet day of worhip. Christmas and Easter
 are the most cherished of holidays. Young children freely pray in church
 and at home, and read their bible stories before they fall off to sleep. 

 All of this is fact.

 Christianity is not threatened in Alabama or in any other state in the
 Union. But the actions of this now removed justice should serve people
 across the nation as an example of the threat to peace and civility that
 may arise when an uncompromising demagogue serves in a highly 
 visible public office. And is willing to use that office in the furtherance
 of his or her own personal religious ideals. Regardless of the interruption
 this might cause to public discourse on other important and more 
 compelling state matters.

 Former Justice Moore declares that he has the duty and obligation to
 acknowledge God. Thus, he places the Ten Commandments Monument 
 { referred to by some as "Roy's Rock" } in the rotunda of the Alabama
 State Judicial building. -- An act committed in the middle of the 
 night, no less!

 U.S. District Judge Myron H. Thompson later ruled that 5,000 pound
 monument should be removed from public display.

 Roy S. Moore declares he is in the right. Not the court. And that Thompson's
 judicial ruling is an affront to the citizens of Alabama and the Alabama 
 state constitution. 

 Roy S. Moore declines to obey the ruling of Judge Thompson's court 
 and hopes his act of defiance will rally the people of Alabama to his 
 defense.

 In the end, the Court of the Judiciary of Alabama - in a unanimous vote -
 removes Justice Moore from the bench declaring that,"...the chief justice 
 placed himself above the law."

 Nothing could be clearer than that!

 Ever the one who's moral superiority is unchallenged, Justice Moore 
 declares that all of these justices -- his former colleagues - are incorrect. 
 Alabama's states rights are threatened by the federal court and the 
 actions of the Court of the Judiciary of Alabama

 Why? Because the removed justice Roy S. Moore says they are.

 What a waste of time and money.

 Let the most God-fearing and devout of Christians run for political office
 all across the state of Alabama. And let the people of Alabama vote for
 each and every one. -- If that is what the people want.

 But, let us not fight the Civil War all over again. Let us not use the cry 
 of "State Rights" to inflame deeply felt prejudices. Let us not use religion
 to drive people apart instead of using faith and the belief in a supreme 
 being, to bring people of all ethnic backgrounds together. Especially
 our brothers and sisters whose religious practices differ from our own,
 and with whom we live as neighbors and share our communities.

 Does not this kind of civility exist in Alabama? 

 Let us not forget the rights of non-believers and people who practice
 their own private spirituality to be free of grandiose proselytizing images, 
 religious displays, monuments, and placards of any faith as they walk 
 through the gleaming hallways of our publicly-funded and maintained 
 buildings.

 The hallowed halls of government building belong to everyone. Believers 
 and non-believers, alike.

 Let us cherish our nation's religious history. And the contribution that
 the religious beliefs - of some - of the Founding Father's made to that 
 history. But let us not use that same proud history as an excuse to hold
 non-Christians as some kind of de-facto second class citizens. People 
 who are to be continually encouraged by subtle means to convert. -- Or
 suffer the civic consequences.

 Should Roy S. Moore decide to run for any public office again. The 
 people of Alabama must make a fateful decision. Is his the kind of voice; 
 dripping with religious arrogance, intemperance, and indignation, the 
 best voice for a state that desperately needs to move fully forward into
 the 21st-century. A state no longer to be held back by the awkward 
 and unpleasant memories of an impoverished and underachieving past.
 

 ReadingPost.Com
 © Copyright 2003

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