for what it's worth

Here in mid Michigan where the weather has now taken a spring-like turn, folks in Frankenmuth are setting up crosses in their yards all around the community.  This is in response to a threatened lawsuit by a local gentleman who thinks that the cross depicted on the town's Official Seal is offensive to the First Amendment.  

I think the man may be right, but I also think he's being needlessly confrontational over a minor thing.  It's not like the city is erecting manger scenes on public land. Still, the guy has a right to his day in court and so go right ahead, dude. 

What I really appreciate is that the people of the community who oppose him have seen fit to take action in such a public way with their crosses.  It's peaceful, it's on their own property, it's representational of what they think, it's free speech, it's truly a free expression of religion that offends no one else's right. 

Similarly, a group of Tibetan monks is holding a mock Olympic torch-carrying ceremony in India, protesting the occupation of Tibet by the Chinese. The point of the march is to protest the holding of the Olympic games in China and to ask the world to boycott.  

These cases exemplify freedom of religion at its best, as opposed to those folks whose religion demands that they impose themselves on our government, our government symbols, and our government property.  

-Bud