A new sign has gone up in Ohio's capital city.
No doubt there will be much wailing and rending of garments. Somewhere a misguided, unthinking soul is composing an angry letter to the editor of The Columbus Dispatch, condemning not only the Columbus Coalition of Reason for erecting the billboard, but the newspaper for publishing a photo of it on Veterans Day.
Even putting aside my own take on religion for a moment, I still contend that the actions of both the organization and the paper are perhaps an ultimate tribute to the men and women who have fought and died for our freedoms.
This is what it's about, People.
Columbus may not be the buckle of the Bible Belt but it's damned close, so a sign promoting acceptance of irreligion won't be very popular (to say the least). Anyone who's tempted to deface it as an affront to what they perceive as "a Christian nation," however, had better pull out their vest-pocket Constitution.
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."As our veterans have protected and defended their fellow Americans' liberties to speak (or not) and worship (or not), so should we avoid insulting their sacrifices on our behalf by insisting that they fought for only one religion or a single ideology.
Thanks to the Founders, our veterans and their families, we're a free People -- let's act like it.
