
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/25/us/in-montana-jesus-statue-is-focus-of-legal-battle.html?hpw
The article discusses a debate over whether a six-foot statue of Jesus Christ should be allowed to remain on Whitefish Mountain Resort, which is federal property. The statue was erected over 50 years ago "by the local Knights of Columbus chapter in honor of the soldiers from the 10th mountain Division who told of seeing similar shrines in the mountains of Italy during World War II". The statue is causing much controversy though due to the legality of such a symbol. An atheist group claims that the statue is in violation of a constitutional principle of separating church and state since it sits on federal property. I am a Catholic so obviously I have no problem with the statue remaining where it is but I do understand the arguments of the atheists and other religious groups. For example, I would probably want a Buddha statue to be removed, although I wouldn't care too much. The statue represents Jesus Christ obviously, yet i think it represents even more than that. It represents what WWII (and other war) veterans did for our country and the memories that the are forced to hold for helping their country. They should decide whether or not the stature should remain. Nonetheless, the statue is significant so I believe it should stay.
I think the author did an excellent job in providing both sides of the argument. He wrote about the atheists who wanted to remove the statue and the Kalispell Chapter of the Knights of Columbus who want the statue to stay. This strategy of presenting the story to the reader was effective because it allowed the reader to make a decision. I spoke about my opinion in this blog and provided my argument but I am sure their are many counter arguments that could be presented.
if its already there, i think it should be able to stay
ReplyDelete