Georgia Guidestones: America's Stonehenge

Elberton , GA is a small Georgia town that lies about 90 miles northeast of the metro Atlanta perimeter. In 2005 Elberton boasted a population of only 4,714 persons with a large portion of those being senior citizens. The median family income for Elberton was recorded in that year at just over 31,000, and the population is racially diverse with the number of white residents outnumbering black residents by less than 10%. In other words, Elberton seems to be just another stop along the highway, a nice town, but not particularly spectacular. What then ,could be drawing so much media attention in this direction?

A simple monument ,erected under somewhat mysterious circumstances in 1980 has long been an object of fascination for North Georgia Natives and tourists alike. Upon first seeing the standing stones and alignment of it's slabs people often feel as though they have just been transported across the sea to the Plain of Salisbury. It is truly a mystical feeling and beautiful place that draws visitors to it's graceful outline every year to witness this Stonhengelike creation. Unfortunately, the reason for the current media attention is less positive as some conspiracy minded folk have imagined it to be connected to a conspiracy which connects the government, the Freemasons, and apparently, Lucifer himself. Luckily, the number of people who support the conservation of this monument greatly outweigh the detractors, and the monument remains open for those who wish to visit and admire the truly mystical creation that is The Georgia Guidestones.

The story basically goes like this. A man who called himself Mr. Christian (although he admitted this was pseudonym) commissioned the work in 1979 from an Elberton granite finishing plant. He told the president of the company that he did so to herald a new age of reason and to record guidelines for the conservation of the Earth that would be able to stand the test of time. It took the majority of a year to finish the monument to his specifications. The finished monument bears quite the resemblance to Stonehenge, with a center stone that measures 16 feet 4 inches tall and is surrounded by four slabs of equal height. The capstone brings the full height of the monument to 19 feet. The monument is aligned with the solstices and seasons just as Stonehenge is, with a hole drilled in the center that allows visitors to track the seasons accurately.

On the four upright slabs are a list of guidelines entitled 'Guides To The Age Of Reason' in English , Spanish, Russian , Arabic, Chinese, Hebrew, Hindi and Swahili. The inscriptions read:

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.

While conspiracy minded individuals find these guidelines to be sinister, the majority of rational people would see these as sensible guidelines for a future people who had survived an Earth devastating catastrophe (guideline no.1), or a suggestion for unity (no.2) or even as general common sense (the other 7). Those who practice Earth religions or follow the practices of Native Americans, find the monument to be a sort of religiously inspirational site. Whatever the commissioners of this work intended ~whether a grandiose mystery or a sacred location replete with primitive observatory~it has stood now for 27 years, and will likely continue to do so. The land owner of the farm that surrounds it apparently doesn't feel too threatened by it's presence , neither do the thousands of visitors who travel there every year to enjoy the mystery and beauty of this unique work of art ~ Georgia's Own Stonehenge.