Guidestones

Last week I read this article about the Georgia Guidestones.  I just happened onto the article and as I read, realized that the location is only about an hour from home.  

After church on Sunday I gave my family a choice.  Visit a lake we have never been to or go to a secret location.  It was a bit cooler outside and looking like rain so they chose to save the lake for this summer.   We drove into Georgia and headed toward Elberton. 

Before we got to the "Granite Capital of the World", we arrived at the Georgia Guidestones. 

Initially I wasn't as impressed as I thought I would be.  Or maybe as much as I thought I should be.  From the car, they just didn't look as massive as I had pictured in my head.  We got out and walked up to them.  

Standing at the base of the massive granite slabs and looking at the amount of words carved into each one, I was now impressed.  The same message is written on each of the eight faces, each in a different language.  

Here is the text inscribed onto each slab:

MAINTAIN HUMANITY UNDER 500,000,000
IN PERPETUAL BALANCE WITH NATURE

GUIDE REPRODUCTION WISELY —
IMPROVING FITNESS AND DIVERSITY

UNITE HUMANITY WITH A LIVING
NEW LANGUAGE

RULE PASSION — FAITH — TRADITION
AND ALL THINGS
WITH TEMPERED REASON

PROTECT PEOPLE AND NATIONS
WITH FAIR LAWS AND JUST COURTS

LET ALL NATIONS RULE INTERNALLY
RESOLVING EXTERNAL DISPUTES
IN A WORLD COURT

AVOID PETTY LAWS AND USELESS
OFFICIALS

BALANCE PERSONAL RIGHTS WITH
SOCIAL DUTIES.

PRIZE TRUTH — BEAUTY — LOVE —
SEEKING HARMONY WITH THE
INFINITE

BE NOT A CANCER ON THE EARTH —
LEAVE ROOM FOR NATURE —
LEAVE ROOM FOR NATURE

Apparently, the writing upsets people from various groups for various reasons.  There have been times of vandalism at the site with people having religious and political disagreements.  The spray paint had all been cleaned off at the time of our visit.  

It surprised me that we saw several other people show up while we were there.  This is a place in between two small towns and I didn't expect to see anyone else. 

After a few pictures and taking some time to read the descriptions we headed back home.  

The Guidestones were a cool thing to come check out, but reading the history first makes the visit even better.