Posted on 07/04/2003 5:32:07 AM PDT by rhema
The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on July 1 against Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore and display of the Ten Commandments he placed in the rotunda of the state courthouse. The four-foot-tall, two-ton granite display features the Commandments inscribed on two tablets along with historical quotations around its base. Moore had the monument made to serve as a visual statement of the foundation of American law and justice. In predictable fashion, the ACLU and Americans United for Separation of Church and State voiced their opposition. In a terse and misinformed denouncement, the three-judge panel reasoned that "If we adopted his position, the chief justice would be free to adorn the walls of the Alabama Supreme Court’s courtroom with sectarian religious murals and have decidedly religious quotations painted above the bench." So what is the foundation of law? By their action, the three-judge panel has declared itself to be the law for those who reside within the jurisdictional boundaries of the 11th Circuit Court. Law is now determined by judicial fiat.
What’s next on the list for the justices to denounce as unconstitutional? Will they go to Pennsylvania and order state officials to whitewash the murals that adorn the walls of the State Supreme Court? The sixteen murals—most of which are specifically sectarian—were conceived and painted by Violet Oakley over a 10 year period from 1917 and 1927. The murals are massive, most measuring 10-by-8 feet.
At the unveiling ceremonies, members of the Supreme Court and the governor were present. Apparently the jurists in attendance did not see an imminent constitutional crisis in 1927. To be sure, they would be better informed and would most likely boycott a similar ceremony if it were held today. What could these public officials have been thinking to allow such an egregious violation of the Constitution?
The very thing the three-judge panel fears in the Roy Moore case is apparent in the murals that adorn the walls of Pennsylvania State Supreme Court. The mural series is titled Divine Law. Plate V is "The Decalogue ... the Hebrew Idea of Revealed Law." It shows in brilliant and expressive color and descriptive form the Ten Commandments being chiseled in stone. Below the image is a recitation of the commandments in English—directly quoting the text of the Bible.
Plate VI shows Jesus delivering "The Beatitudes ... the Christian Idea of Revealed Law." Similar to the Ten Commandments mural, the Beatitudes are written out, a certain violation of the Court’s logic, since the murals are obviously "sectarian" and include "religious quotations" from the New Testament.
Plates VIII and X summarize the philosophy of the English Jurist William Blackstone. Plate X includes the often quoted summary of his Commentaries on the Laws of England: “This Law of Nature dictated by God Himself is superior to any other. It is binding over all the globe, in all countries and at all times. No human laws are of any validity if contrary to this, and such of them as are valid derive all their force and all their authority mediately or immediately from this original. Upon these two foundations the Law of Nature and the Law of Revelation depend all human Law. ... Human laws are only declaratory of and act in subordination to Divine Law.” Blackstone could not be any more clear and any more out of step with today’s foundationless judicial decrees. These plates need an extra coat of whitewash.
Plate XV is the panel of "Christ and Disarmament ... International Law." Once again, the Bible is quoted. In this final mural, Jesus Christ is walking on the stormy seas of international conflict while warships sink around him. "It depicts Oakley’s vision of what would occur if all nations accepted one code of law." Oakley’s view was that "one code of law" was Divine Law. I wonder how her view would be received over at the United Nations?
The efforts of the Pennsylvania State Capitol Preservation Committee to maintain the murals may be in vain. One by one the courts are closing in on sectarian displays of law. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals specifically mentioned "sectarian religious murals" in its ruling. Are Violet Oakley’s mural masterpieces destined to be painted over?
I believe it’s time to force the issue. Who will petition the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to whitewash what is an obvious violation of the Constitution? And let's not stop here. The next step taken should be to the U.S. Supreme Court. The iconoclasts will need a sandblaster to remove the image of Moses holding the Ten Commandments and peering down on the Chief Justice's seat. Maybe when this happens the citizenry will finally stand up and take notice.
We celebrate the founding of our nation every July 4. The Declaration is clear: "We are endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights." The logic is equally clear: "No God—no rights. Our rights are now in the hands of five U.S. Supreme Court justices.
I believe it was Andrew Jackson who said, "The Court has made its ruling. Now let them enforce it."
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