By Tribune-Review

Published: Saturday, February 2, 2013, 9:00 p.m.
Updated: Wednesday, February 20, 2013

After reading the various letters about the Ten Commandments monument and the lawsuit involving the New Kensington-Arnold School District, I would like to outline the issues of the real argument.

The pro-monument groups see morality based upon Christian ideas as historical because they are the foundation of the United States. The anti-monument groups see it as a Christian symbol violating the separation of church and state.

Diversity has resulted in there being millions of Americans of multiple faiths and beliefs, some of whom are offended by Christian symbols.

Those who support the Ten Commandments monument do so because Christianity is the most common religion, and they believe the monument is historical and contains good advice. They believe in “freedom of religion,” not “freedom from religion” and think that opponents are targeting Christianity but support “more” freedoms for other groups like Muslims and atheists.

Those opposing the monument believe minority groups need to be protected from the majority seeking to impose its beliefs — that it infringes on people's freedoms and is a purely religious symbol. They believe opposing this protects all people of all faiths.

So who is right? The preamble of Pennsylvania's Constitution states: “We the people of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, grateful to Almighty God for the blessings of civil and religious liberty, and humbly invoking His guidance, do ordain and establish this Constitution.”

But issues like this are never as simple as one sentence.

Jessica Johns

Vandergrift

1. Conservatives have no solutions
2. Oppose Common Core
3. IRS ‘useful idiots’
4. Say yes to FLAG
5. The dyslexia of liberalism
6. Buck stops at top
7. Diplomatic doublespeak
8. Don’t disparage the dyslexic
9. Unions can, churches can’t?
10. What am I paying for?
11. Built-in bias

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