HAWKINS, TX (KLTV) - An East Texas mayor wants to keep Jesus on a sign that sits on city property. In Hawkins, an 18-ft wide purple and gold sign reads, in block letters, “Jesus Welcomes You to Hawkins.”…. The reference to Jesus drew scrutiny from non-profit organization Freedom from Religion Foundation (FFRF) in Wisconsin. According to the June 1 letter to the Hawkins city council from FFRF’s attorney, Sam Grover, the organization objects to the sign because it “conveys a government preference for religion over nonreligion.”…. FFRF asked the council to remove the sign because it violates the constitutional separation between state and church. Hawkins mayor Will Rogers said the city doesn’t have the money to battle FFRF in court, but he thinks it is a fight the city would win…. “That’s not a church, we’re not welcoming you to a particular church, that sign says ‘Jesus welcomes you,’” explained Rogers. “[Jesus is] the most googled and most popular man in the world.”
Yes, this is East Texas we’re talking about, so calling this a “facepalm moment” would be redundant- EVERY day the sun rises in East Texas is a facepalm moment. Even with that fact in mind, the arrogance and willful constitutional ignorance behind this story is stunning. Since the mayor’s first name isn’t pronounced “HAY-SOOS,” it shouldn’t take a Ph.D. to figure out that the sign greeting travelers on the outskirts of town without a doubt represents an endorsement of one particular religion over others. If the sign said “JESUS, MUHAMMAD, THE BUDDHA, AND THE FLYING SPAGHETTI MONSTER WELCOME YOU TO HAKWINS,” I suspect we’d be having a much different conversation. It doesn’t, and, despite Mayor Rogers’ dishonest and disingenuous doublespeak, the sign represents government endorsement of the majority religion.
It’s kind of sad when a budding theocrat can’t even lie with alacrity, isn’t it?
Have y’all not read the Constitution? Or did you just sleep through the lesson that covered the 1st Amendment’s Exclusion Clause? Despite what you may think (I’m talking to you, Tom DeLay), the Constitution wasn’t written by God and the Ten Commandments weren’t incorporated in statute law in Texas. Unless you’re claiming that a Mexican immigrant named “HAY-SOOS” is welcoming weary travelers to the earthly Paradise that is Hawkins, TX, this is about as clear-cut a violation of the separation of Church and State that one could find. Lying about it only makes your intent seem even more nefarious and hyper-religious.
Unfortunately, Mayor Rogers can’t even manage to be believable and earnest; he’s just unabashedly dishonest. It’s unlikely that a rational person would view the sign as anything but an official endorsement of Christianity…unless, of course, Jesus Christ calls Hawkins, TX, home. Given my experiences and travels in East Texas, most of which make Hell look like Disneyland, that seems highly unlikely. I mean, have you ever been to Hawkins? Or Vidor? Or Beaumont??
