I was listening to NPR to that "quiz" show (its name escapes me right now, but it's not Whaddya Know...but the one out of Boston...oh, I know...it's "Wait, wait, don't tell me!") and anyhow, they provided an interesting bit of information of which I wasn't aware.
Did you know that the 10 commandment displays infront of courthouses and whatnot are actually a product of
PR from the 1956 release of the epic movie "The Ten Commandments"?
Here's on older story detailing it. Quote:
Several current lawsuits involve monuments that date to the mid-1950s and the film, "The Ten Commandments." Seeking to promote his movie, producer Cecil B. DeMille got in touch with a Minnesota judge, E.J. Ruegemer, who had been posting paper copies of the commandments in public schools and courthouses. DeMille asked him to post more permanent displays — bronze plaques instead of paper — and not just in schools and courthouses, but in other public places. Ruegemer agreed, but he wanted granite tablets.
Ruegemer got his international service group, the Fraternal Order of Eagles, to pay for some 4,000 tablets, which were distributed by local Eagles chapters. The film's stars, including Charleton Heston and Yul Brynner, were sent to dedication ceremonies across the land, and the 4-foot markers became a common sight.
The displays mostly went unchallenged until recently, when groups started filing lawsuits alleging that they violate the constitutional ban on government-sponsored religion because they are on public property.
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I just think that is soooo ironic!
And if you watch the movie and look at the tablets in question, it's the SAME look!
I wonder what Cecile B. Demille would think of all this great publicity?
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