Chair recognizes the very junior member from West Virginia . . .
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Ladies and Gentlemen, my colleagues in this august body. It is with a heavy heart that I rise to address you today. My heart is heavy because there is a new blight upon this land. A threat I never imagined would come to pass. Never imagined that I would need to fight against something like this while a member of Congress.
Just recently, this body overwhelmingly and, in my mind correctly, passed a constitutional amendment that would allow Congress to legislate flag desecration. Sadly, it died in the Senate. But among the wishy-washy terrorist enablers who opposed that wise amendment were those who correctly pointed out that flag desecration is a very rare occurrence and there are more pressing threats that demand our attention. For once, I agree.
This past weekend in Memphis, Tennessee, another powerful symbol of this great nation was defiled. The Statue of Liberty - a beacon of hope and freedom to the entire world, under whose stately gaze millions came to find a better life in this country - has been cheapened.
The World Overcomers Outreach Ministries Church unveiled a replica - a cheap parody - of the Statue of Liberty in downtown Memphis. In place of the tablet in Lady Liberty's left hand is now the Ten Commandments. The name "Jehovah" is scrawled across her crown. And the Lady's torch - a beacon of liberty to millions - has been replaced with a huge, gaudy, gold cross.
This symbol of freedom - a gift from our friends from France, in better times - has been turned upside down. No longer can it proclaim loudly:
Give me your tired, your poor,Without adding, "but only if you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior." To do so is un American and violates the separation of Church and State so prized by our Constitution.
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!
I ask you, my colleagues, what is next? Must the Statue of Liberty be submerged in an icy lake? Must it be dismantled in countless films for the amusement of our mouth-breathing children? Must it be placed on license plates, bumper stickers, and key chains in such a way to cheapen its meaning for new generations?
I say "no," we must not wait. Symbolism is too important to a Country at War (tm) to let it be casually mutilated by the populace. Only by amending that Constitution can we give this Congress the power to prevent such further bastardizations of Lady Liberty.
Please join me in supporting the Leave Lady Liberty the Fuck Alone Amendment.
I yield the balance of my time to the equally junior member from Ohio.
2 comments:
I'll have to table that until a later session because I had to be out most of the day today for a golf outing with the boss. Seaching for my latent Scottish golf gene will be my post about the event that I'll finish tomorrow.
You know, I've thought and thought about an appropriate smart assed comment but all that I keep coming up with tend to be more satire where I propose that we put forth a bunch of anti-desecration bills but say "except for Christians" on each one. So, I'm kind of coming up empty. Good post though.
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