CROSS ISSUE RAISES LOTS OF HACKLES HERE

America was founded by courageous pilgrims who fled their homelands in search of freedom. Freedom of religion. Freedom of choosing their own trades. Freedom from oppression. Freedom of speech. These are basic principles on which this country was founded.

Over the decades, something has happened to freedom of religion, especially where the government is concerned. Anti-religious zealots are trying to wipe any mention of God and religion from the face of government. The courts have upheld separation of church and state, but these fanatics are taking the cause to extreme, and uncalled for, lengths.

Such is the case with the Freedom From Religion Foundation's demand that a monument with a cross in Cape Girardeau be removed from public land. The monument pays tribute to three French missionaries who tried to bring Christianity to the Indians in 1699.

A group spokeswoman contends there is no precedent for the government's allowing a cross to be put on public land. Come on. It isn't as if the government decided last week to put the cross there. That decision was made 47 years ago. Perhaps 47 years ago the courts would have thrown out the Freedom From Religion claim as frivolous.

Equally offensive is the group's reference to this illegally placed cross in the "land of Limbaugh," referring to conservative talk show host and Cape Girardeau native Rush Limbaugh. What is the point? Would it be OK in the land of Ted Kennedy?

Who are these people, and what right to they have to meddle in our lives? The spokeswoman characterized the Freedom From Religion group as 3,300 atheists and agnostics. Apparently one unnamed member from the area complained.

Thanks to some resourceful highway employees, the Missouri Department of Highways and Transportation says the monument is located beyond the necessary right-of-way. The department plans to give a small plot of land back to a neighboring landowner, thereby putting the cross on private, not public, property. It just goes to show there are other ingenious ways to win than in the courtroom.

But the Freedom From Religion spokeswoman calls the plan "sleight of hand" and wonders if this move is in the best interests of Missouri citizens. No one appointed Freedom From Religion as advocate for Missourians. The Wisconsin-based group only care about its cause, not our welfare.

This is the same group that is trying to remove "In God We Trust" from U.S. currency. And it is the same group that is suing Colorado for having the Ten Commandments on a stone in the state Capitol. If they win, Missouri's Capitol Jefferson City may be next.

Where will it all end? Next the group may target our city cemeteries, which contain several crosses. Will graves have to be dug up if ancestors want loved ones to stay with their original monuments? Are crosses at national cemeteries in jeopardy?

This local monument is simply not offensive. No annual ceremonies depend on its presence. School-age children aren't lectured on its local significance. Most people don't even notice the cross along a busy thoroughfare.

What makes the matter all the more frustrating is the fact these anti-religion cases are becoming the rule rather than the exception. Southern Illinois University-Carbondale recently banned prayer at its graduation ceremonies. The action is in response to a letter from the Illinois chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. Once again, the minority rules.

Bit by bit, all religious references are disappearing from government and education. This mirrors a rise in violence, corruption and family decay in America.

The Freedom From Religion group may want to remove this inoffensive monument as a matter of principle. It is time people and states stand up to these bullies as a matter of principle. Three cheers for the highway department. It has enabled Missourians to return to the notion of majority rule.