“It’s just a cross on a water tower,” says Mayor James Bellar of Whiteville, Tennessee.
*sigh* Here we go again.
“It’s just a cross on a water tower,” so all those Atheists and Anti-Christians and Secularists are just making a tempest in a teapot over it. No harm, no foul …
… except that if someone (say, the Freedom From Religion Foundation) says that it needs to be removed because it’s an unconstitutional support of a particular religion by a government body, then those folks, asking for the removal of “just a cross on a water tower” are … TERRORISTS.
“They are terrorists as far as I’m concerned,” said Mayor James Bellar about the Freedom From Religion Foundation. “They are alleging that some Whiteville resident feels very, very intimidated by this cross.”
This sort of resembles Bryan Fischer claiming that homosexuals are committing hate crimes by criticizing folks who say they’re all dirty perverts going to hell. Except I think Mayor Bellar is genuinely clueless.
The mayor told Fox News Radio that the cross was erected on the town’s water tower about eight years ago by a private group of citizens. They collected private donations to cover the costs.
Which is a fine way for private citizens to make a public display of their faith — through private donations. Word is, local individuals and churches raised $4400 for the cross.
Except then they used the government‘s property, something paid for and supported by all taxpayers — the water tower — to display the cross. It could have gone on someone’s private property. Or someone could have privately built a big tower to put it on. But instead, they had the government display it. And, incidently, light it up at night.
That’s a no-no. Because then it’s the town saying that it’s a Christian place, not just a private group of citizens. It’s all the town’s people, paying taxes to keep the water tower in place and painted and maintained, being compelled to maintain the base for this religious display.
And if you think that’s inappropriate, and actually try to act on that conviction, then … you’re a TERRORIST.
The mayor said the atheist group’s demands are “very frustrating” calling it a sad state of affairs.
“A terrorist is more than a guy that flies the planes into the building,” he said. “It’s anyone who can disrupt your way of living, destroy your lifestyle, cause you anxiety. It’s more than killing people. If they can disrupt your routine in life, that’s what they want to do. They are terrorists as far as I’m concerned.”
That’s right. You got your TERRORISTS that blow people up. You got your TERRORISTS that make you fear for your life and health. And you got your TERRORISTS that … disrupt your routine in … life …?
What?
Plus, go back to that other statement. “It’s just a cross on a water tower.” Such a little thing for those Atheists to be so upset over. But to ask that it be taken off of government property, and put on display on private property instead … well, that’s disrupting their way of life! It’s destroying their lifestyle! It’s causing anxiety! It’s disrupting the routine in their lives!
Just like TERRORISTS do!
So it’s trivial … except that it’s also ooooooh-so-important to them. It’s just like the folks who say, “Oh, ‘under God’ isn’t really about religion, so it should be left in the Pledge of Allegiance” and then turn around and say with the same breath, “And if you take that out, it’s a slap in the face of Christ, Christians, and the Christian nature of our nation!”
“All we’re doing is exercising our right to practice our beliefs down here but this organization is now going to stymie that.”
I’m pretty certain the Freedom From Religion Foundation isn’t out to stop folks from practicing their beliefs. Nobody’s saying that churches have to be torn down, or that people have to stop praying. Really. I’ve read the press release. All the FFRF is saying is, “You can’t do put a big cross on display as a government; you can only do it as private individuals.”
Just like TERRORISTS are well-known for saying.
The Mayor has also said,
“A terrorist is also someone who will come into a very Christian community and try to disrupt our lives, try to change our beliefs,” he said.
The FFRF isn’t acting to change anyone’s beliefs. It’s acting to protect the beliefs of all, including anyone who believes differently in that “very Christian community.”
The problem is, the Mayor doesn’t recognize the difference between the community — a private, social construct, which may or may not include everyone in the geographical area — and the town government, which actually does represent everyone. Religious expression by the predominant community is fine. Religious expression by the government is not.
The Mayor notes,
“We’re not out here knocking on doors trying to convert people.”
No. You’re putting up a big sign that essentially says, “Whiteville is officially a Christian community. Others may, or may not, be welcome, but even if you are, don’t expect that your religion will be treated with the same respect as ours.”
Yes, really. That’s what having a government-supported (literally) cross says
It’s worth noting that Mayor Bellar’s appreciation for, or understanding of, folks who believe other than he does is … fairly limited.
Mayor Bellar has offered one more “unique” compromise offer. “I’ve even gone so far as to tell them that if they want to come down here and put their image on the side of the tank, I’ll let ’em paint SATAN on the tank if they’d like to. So, they will have representation,” Bellar suggested.
I don’t think the FFRF are Satanists, Mayor Bellar. And they’d probably be the first to say that painting “SATAN” on the side of a government water tower would be equally inappropriate.
The FFRF says that it submitted the most recent legal ultimatum (after three other letters dating back to last December were ignored) on behalf of a local resident. Obviously, since they’re TERRORISTS, though, they must be liars.
“As a matter of fact, I don’t even think it’s a Whiteville resident,” he said. “We don’t have people of that belief here and if we do they’re not going to raise that kind of ruckus for the rest of the town.”
The irony is breath-taking. Mayor Bellar has no real idea if that have people “of that belief” there, and if they do, they know that they’d better keep quiet. Because otherwise, oh, I don’t know, the mayor might call them a TERRORIST. Or a SATANIST. Or even a SATANNIC TERRORIST. And then who knows what might happen to them, or their job, or their car, or their house.
No wonder they won’t raise a ruckus.
It’s worth noting that a private party has offered to take the cross and display it prominently … on private land. Which is perhaps a bit garish, but is also legal and appropriate.
The local Jackson Sun has run an editorial, which, after asserting their Southern Christian bona fides, supports the cross being relocated.
To our fellow Christians who may disagree, we issue a respectful challenge borrowed from a local church youth production: God doesn’t call governments to be Christians, he calls Christians to be Christians.
The government is not the instrument to spread God’s word. We are.
Amen.
(via Les and Ed Brayton)