Americans want signs of faith: if it's their own
• Christian Fundamentalism
Larry Copeland, Gannett News Service:
High school senior Blake Trettien sued the city last year over a monument to the Bible's Ten Commandments in a public park. Legendary Hollywood filmmaker Cecil B. DeMille and a local service group donated the monument to the city in 1958, part of a nationwide promotion for his movie "The Ten Commandments."
Trettien dropped his suit after the city sold the sliver of land containing the monument. But another city resident and a Washington civil liberties group have filed another lawsuit, arguing people can't tell that the monument is no longer on city property.
Now, Frederick is embroiled again in a volatile, fast-spreading national fight. From Winder, Ga., to Everett, Wash., Americans are squaring off in courthouses, classrooms and city halls over religious monuments in government buildings and parks.