Defenders
of the cross argue that cross symbolizes more than just Cross on
which Jesus was crucified. Here they are right. Cross is a symbol of
genocide committed by conquistadors and religious settlers on
peoples of Central and South America, Africa, Australia, New Zealand
and numer- ous ocean island countries. Cross is a symbol of
heretics, women "witches" and scientists burned on stake
just to prove that catholic church is always right. Cross is a
symbol of the atrocities committed by crusaders, medieval and those
in recent history. All that under the cross and in the name of
Cross.
Defenders
of the cross argue that over 90% of Croatian population are
Catholics and it is their democratic right to place the cross where
they want. Here they are not right. What they are talking about is
terror of majority, not democracy. Democracy begins where minority
is recognized, not overruled. As an atheist, I don’t want to see
the cross above head of any government official of a secular state when I’m
approa- ching him/her for any reason whatsoever. Then again, catholic church is not known as a democratic institution.
American
sociologist and philosopher Reinhold Niebuhr cherished democracy as
"a method of finding proximate solutions for insoluble
problems, its purpose being as much to constrain as to
liberate".