The Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision breaking on the obvious conservative-liberal lines, has decided that a Christian cross on public land is A-OK:
To Kennedy, the cross "is not merely a reaffirmation of Christian beliefs" but a symbol "often used to honor and respect" heroism.
He added: "Here, one Latin cross in the desert evokes far more than religion. It evokes thousands of small crosses in foreign fields marking the graves of Americans who fell in battles, battles whose tragedies are compounded if the fallen are forgotten."
My hat goes off for Justice Kennedy, because he is excellent in his slipperiness. Note that by stating that the cross is a general symbol for past sacrifices he preempts the argument that we can now put, say, a pentagram up on public land. Only the cross has those historical associations in the United States! Well, with the possible exceptions of Native American symbols.
So which Native American religious symbol should we put up on public land?