One thing should be clear from the excellent letters written to the editor regarding removal of the monument to the Ten Commandments from government buildings. Those attempts at removal are based on lies. It is opposite the intention of the First Amendment, so that it is actually the removal of the monument that is unconstitutional.

      The lies are easily refuted by looking at the historical record. There are a multitude of examples, but what could make it more dramatically clear than the words of the man who wrote the First Amendment, James Madison: "We have staked the whole future of American Civilization, not upon the power of government, far from it. We have staked the future of all of our political institutions...upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves, according to the Ten Commandments of God."

      There are some caring and intelligent individuals who support removal of monuments to the Ten Commandments. Some of them, by doing this, have the intentions of promoting peace, tolerance, equality, and fairness. Nevertheless, if they are supporting removal of the monuments based on their unconstitutionality, they are supporting a lie.

      The backbone of all ethics and morality must be honesty and dedication to truth. If you are supporting a cause based on a lie, you lack moral and ethical integrity-no matter what your intentions might be. I plead with you to insist upon honesty and truth. Your lofty goals and dreams will never be reached without it. The lie you support is one verified by historical record. I emphasize this to make it clear that I am not talking about Truth that some may think can vary depending on one's point of view.

      I thank God for our county commissioners who have taken a stand against removal of the Ten Commandments monument from our Courthouse. However, their plan for the monument is an unacceptable compromise because it does not directly confront the lie. Historical documentation makes it clear what our Constitution intended. To cower to the Prince of Lies is to promote a precedent that is having a domino affect across this nation. If we fight and lose and wickedness prevails, we still have the option of incorporating the monument into a display of additional influences on Western law.

      There may be enough earnest truth-seekers in this valley for God to give victory against what seems to be impossible odds. My passion is not for a stone monument or even for the Ten Commandments since Jesus upheld and surpassed them. My passion is for truth, and truth is worth fighting for and sacrificing for. If we don't, we will continue on the path of self-annihilation.

Annie Bukacek MD