'I believe' that this decision was a good one

Originally from New York, my family and I have had to make the 10-hour drive up there twice a year since we moved to North Carolina. It is a fairly difficult drive and because it is such a long drive; you cannot plan around rush hour because you will inevitably be stuck in some sort of traffic near a metropolitan area. Sitting in traffic typically around the D.C. area or somewhere along the Jersey Turnpike, the only thing that helped my brothers and me suffer through the endless line of taillights were the occasional funny or witty bumper stickers and license plates. Some of the ones that I can still vividly remember are bumper stickers that said, "Lost cat: Check under my tires" and "Get Revenge: S-t on a pigeon!" A funny license plate, and my older brother's favorite, that sticks out in my memory is the license plate on a Hummer that says, "Huge Ego."

Recently, the South Carolina Legislature approved a Christian themed license plate. The license plate featured a stained glass window on the left with a cross on top of it. To the right of this image is the position for the license number and above it, the state issued, and below it "I believe." However, the United States District Judge, Cameron Currie, argued that the license plate was a violation of the first amendment and that Congress could not make a law "respecting the establishment of a religion."

I agree with the ruling that Judge Currie makes, and for one specific, simple reason that the license plate on a car or motor vehicle is a direct registration with the state. I am a full supporter of freedom of speech and I think that it is great that people can express their political opinions with license plates that say "1/29/09: The end of an error" or "My child is an honor roll student, My President is an idiot." People also have the right to put religious bumper stickers on their cars supporting whatever religion or decals that support professional or local sports teams and even ones that support certain beaches. However, the simple fact that the license plate itself is state issued is where the problem resides with approving and allowing a Christian themed template.

Part of Currie's argument for the rejection of the license plate is that to support it, it would also violate the separation of church and state. This is very good point to make because whether or not the United States is based on Christian morals and values, which is a highly risky statement to make, to support one religion and not approve a template for the Jewish, Muslim or whatever other religion would be as if the government is picking favorites. Although the United States is predominately Christian, it is very medieval to say that Christianity is our marker or our label for our culture. We cannot be a melting pot of all sorts of cultures, religion and people if we use one specific one as our chosen mascot.

Not only do drivers get to choose their decals and stickers, but if they really are not satisfied with the tools of these stickers to convey a public message, then they should take advantage of being able to customize their number. They can pay the extra fees every year to have a license plate that says whatever short, religious message they try to fit in a combination of a few characters. They could also choose not to even go that route and pay to get a number that has an E as the first character, and PeDee the Pirate's head on the left -- a similar format to what most college campuses offer for students or alumni.

The beauty of options is the important element in this matter and in similar ones. Because states offer customized license numbers to no end of imagination with some extra annual fees, this is not a problem because everyone is given an opportunity to create whatever they want and no one view point is limited. And I have to admit that yes, a license plate template completely decked out in purple and gold so it shines the glare into our rivals' eyes on game day would be awesome, but if one school was left out, it is easy to see the unfairness. In retrospect, the problem is not so intricate -- simply express yourself on your automobile with stickers and decals and leave it at that!

This writer can be contacted at opinion@theeastcarolinian.com.