Supreme Court and religious expression. Common sense at last.

LA Times: In a shift away from strict church-state separation, the Supreme Court gave its approval Wednesday to displaying a Christian cross on government land to honor the war dead, saying the Constitution "does not require the eradication of all religious symbols in the public realm."

Speaking for a divided court, Justice Anthony M. Kennedy said the 1st Amendment calls for a middle-ground "policy of accommodation" toward religious displays on public land, not a total ban on symbols of faith.

By a 5-4 vote, the justices reversed lower courts in California that had ordered the U.S. Park Service to remove an 8-foot-high cross that has stood in various forms in the Mojave National Preserve since 1934 as a memorial to World War I soldiers.

Every now and then common sense visits the supreme court.  If you take the time to actually read the constitution you'd discover that it says that the government can not establish a state religion, not that religious expression of any sort associated with government is strictly prohibited.  Thus we have "In God We Trust" on our money, have a Congressional Chaplin, etc.  To interpret a cross, Christmas display, the Ten Commandments and the like as an endorsement is just silly.

That said, the cross is in fact a Christian symbol.  There are many war dead that weren't not Christian.  Perhaps their sacrifice for our country should also be commemorated with their religious symbols.  Here it's worth noting that Frank Buono, a former National Park Service employee, sued to have the 8ft-high (2.4m) wooden cross covered or removed after the government agency refused to put up a Buddhist memorial nearby.  Common sense suggests that all our war dead should be commemorated regardless of faith.