The Offensive Cross

In 1934, a World War I veteran named Riley Bembry helped to erect a cross in the middle of no where... in the middle of the Mojave Desert... This cross sits on a 4,000 foot plateau -You won't find this cross on any maps... No one really knew about it.... it was erected to honor the war veterans.... It was to honor the war veterans who came to the desert to recover from severe lung diseases caused by mustard gas during the attacks in World War I.

Riley and the other war veterans who erected this cross over 75 years ago did not get permission to put up the cross and for several decades - no one cared it was there... Riley was the caretaker for this memorial until 1984 when he died. Today Henry Sandoz along with his wife Wanda proudly are the caretakers of this memorial...

Today this memorial is hidden between plywood... yep you read it right - it's hidden behind plywood... Why, you may ask.. Because the cross is offensive to some.... a very small minority - I ask why does a small minority have such strong powers.... Why does our government turn their back on the very fabric of it's conception.... Why are they so afraid to represent and show respect to Jesus Christ..?

In 1994, 1.6 million acres of desert - including the land where the cross is became government property after it was turned into a National Park.... A few years later, a resident wanted to put up a Buddhist shrine near the cross... the request was denied.... And because the ACLU - is against anything "Christian" related - they said it wasn't fair -they said if the cross is up then every other religious symbol should be able to be displayed... (it's sounds so childish to me) What angers me is that the cross isn't just about religion it's about honor - the cross is honoring the WW I vets - men and women who fought for our freedom... who fought for our country... and the ACLU is always up to the task of mocking our patriotism.. I find that so very sad..

Peter Eliasber, managing attorney of the ACLU in Southern California is quoted as saying, "It strikes me as sort of odd that it just happens to be in that shape. If what they really wanted to do was have a war memorial, there are hundreds of other shapes that it could be in." Okay this is me saying, "huh?" The cross was erected 75 years ago... A time in our country where God, Church, and Patriotism meant something......

So today the Supreme Court is deciding what to do - some members of Congress agreed to transfer one acre of land around the cross in exchange for five private acres around the preserve. A San Francisco, California appeals court turned down that offer, saying it failed to satisfy Constitutional concerns.... If the government allows this cross to be removed - what are the implications of the other religious imagery in our country - it's on building - other memorials.. On statues.. works of art - is our government going to destroy those too?

Embedded video from CNN Video