Off Highway 77 at the highest point in Elberton, Georgia sits the Georgia Guidestones. These giant monoliths were created in 1979 out of local Pyramid Blue Granite and were commissioned by a mysterious "R.C. Christian." He said that he represented a group of people that wished to remain anonymous. This group, which sought to bring about an "Age of Reason," intended to commission a monument inscribed with instructions for rebuilding society, due to the group’s anticipation of an eventual collapse of civilization.
The List:
- 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.
The message of ten guidelines or principles is engraved on the Georgia Guidestones in eight different languages, one language on each face of the four large upright stones. Moving clockwise around the structure from due north, these languages are: English, Spanish, Swahili, Hindi, Hebrew, Arabic, Chinese, and Russian.
It's baffling to me that a monument like this exists; and how ironic it's smack dab in the middle of the bible belt. I had heard of the guidestones as a child but was reminded of them last year during one of my graduate classes. Our precarious instructor suggested the site as a possible subject for a hypothetical preservation plan. The monument's celebrity status and undocumented history had us all hoping he was going to give us another option...thankfully he did. Given the monument's size and status, it will likely become the subject of a preservation plan or at least a project for future preservation students.
Often referred to as America's Stonehenge, the guidestones somewhat controversial messages have caused as much curiosity as they have fear and anger. Supporters (notable among them Yoko Ono) have praised the messages as a stirring call to rational thinking, akin to Thomas Paine's The Age of Reason. Opponents have attacked them as the Ten Commandments of the Antichrist.
In early 2012, a documentary exploring the origins of the stones and theories about Mr. R.C. Christian was released Check it out!
Regardless of who this R.C. Christian is or was or why he had the monument built, it is clear he knew what he was doing...The Georgia Guidestones are quite striking- dare I say beautiful. They are for certain an engineering masterpiece that flawlessly tracks the sun and have captured the attention of anyone to visit them (for better or worse).
We clearly had fun on our visit.
Want the "full" story? Check out this link.
Related articles
- Who Are These Stones Supposed To Guide? (notestoponder.wordpress.com)
- American Stonehenge: Monumental Instructions for the Post-Apocalypse (wired.com)
- The Curious Case of the Georgia Guidestones and Ms. Carney (thedailybell.com)
