STATEMENT OF JAMES "JIM" GREEN

Green v. Haskell County

Jim Green is a 68-year-old, retired veteran that has a 100 percent service-connected disability.  He is a long time resident of Stigler, Oklahoma, which is the county seat of Haskell County.

Green issued the following statement today on why he joined a lawsuit challenging a prominent Ten Commandments display on the Haskell County Courthouse:

I am a patriot.  I fought for and believe in the Bill of Rights, especially religious liberty, as guaranteed by the First Amendment.  Religious liberty allows each of us to have the freedom to believe and worship whatever religious faith that we choose without the government interfering.  But when the government starts dictating what religious ideas are ""right,"" it interferes with a person's choice.  It hurts religious liberty and trivializes religion, when the government starts endorsing certain religious messages to the exclusion of others.

The Ten Commandments and churches have played and do play an important role in a person's life. For many people, their religious beliefs provide comfort, solace, strength and moral values.  But these decisions are for an individual to make, not the government.  There are many diverse beliefs in this country, and the government should not select one over another for preferred treatment.

Putting a monument of the Ten Commandments on the front lawn of the courthouse that is highly visible, the place where people go to vote, register property and seek justice, sends the message that if you don't subscribe to this specific thought, you will have no access to the government.  The government shouldn't be the judge of what religious beliefs are right, wrong or preferred.

The government should not be in the business of religion and should not be deciding which beliefs are true and which religious beliefs are false.