This was not unusual for the time and the Eagles were people who advocated for the creation of Mother's Day and proponents of social security in the U.S. In other words, they considered to be supporters of the common good. At the time, the majority of the population was Christian. And the Ten Commandments was the basis of many a constitution as a basic set of rules.
The separation of church and state is a complicated thing. In Quebec, the government tries to eradicate
The Eagles started off with a close relation to the arts in 1898. The were the ones that pushed for Mother's Day and were huge supporters of social security. Some of the most prominent citizens in the U.S. and Canada were or are Eagles. It was back at a state legislature that a big deal was made about Ten Commandments monument donated many years before by the Eagles. It took a Supreme Court decision to get the monument put back.
In Winnipeg, it took a prominent Jewish philanthropist Gail Asper to make a plea for the return. It was quietly put back when the Eagles declined the return. And why should they have? Likely they were community builders from the greatest generation, undoubtedly World War II vets among them who wished only the best in their community. In that vein, the Eagles donated Ten Commandments monuments in the U.S. and Canada.
For years the monument sat in the northwest corner of the park without much controversy. The construction of The Leaf entailed storing it and herein lay the problem. The Assiniboine Park didn't know if they should just re-position it. This created way too much controversy whereby they asked the Eagles if they wanted the monument back which they didn't. Adding to the awkwardness is the fact that Kildonan Park also had a Ten Commandments monument donated by the Knights of Columbus.
At this point, leading citizens like Gail Asper stepped in to give clarity. There are some who probably will like a cleansing of religious symbols in public but then it can go so far as banning of religious symbol on your person as we see in Quebec. In that province, crosses and turbans are banned. The only way to do that has been to invoke the notwithstanding clause in the constitution. To go against freedom of religion and freedom of expression is a heavy price to pay. And it raises the question if atheism is itself a belief system.
Assiniboine Park did the right thing when they returned the monument. Quebec as turned atheism itself into a belief system so that it scrubs all religion away even when it is someone's personal body. Surely, we should be able some flexibility going forward. Manitoba is generally a tolerant place. We have churches and synagogues across from one another. Religious schools everywhere.
I understand re-naming some things and removing some things is the way of the world. But an old names or item can also be used for education. For example, a re-thinking about re-naming Wolseley is being considered. And this is by the Metis themselves. Does washing the name away teach anyone about history? Was destruction of statue of Queen Victoria meaningful over long term? Would moving it have been a more educational. One thing is certain and that is the occupation of the Legislature has turned it into an armed enclosure. It is unlikely anyone will ever damage, vandalize or otherwise engage monuments except in the most closely monitored protests there ever again.
As opposed to the Ten Commandments, which should live on peacefully in the park as before.
