HISTORY OF THE GUIDESTONES :
In June 1979, a man using the pseudonym Robert C. Christian approached the Elberton Granite Finishing Company on behalf of "a small group of loyal Americans", and commissioned the structure. Christian explained that the stones would function as a compass, calendar, and clock, and should be capable of "withstanding catastrophic events".[2]
Joe Fendley of Elberton Granite assumed that Christian was "a nut" and attempted to discourage him by providing a quote for the commission which was several times higher than any project the company had previously taken, explaining that the guidestones would require additional tools and consultants. To Fendley's surprise, Christian accepted the quote.[2] When arranging payment, Christian said that he represented a group which had been planning the guidestones for 20 years and which wanted to remain anonymous.[2]
Christian delivered a scale model of the guidestones and ten pages of specifications.[2] The 5-acre (2-hectare)[2] site was apparently purchased by Christian on October 1, 1979,[3][4][non-primary source needed] from farm owner Wayne Mullenix.[2] Mullenix and his children were given lifetime cattle grazing rights on the guidestones site.[2]
On March 22, 1980, the monument was unveiled before an audience variously described as 100[5] or 400 people.[2] Christian later transferred ownership of the land and the guidestones to Elbert County.[2]
The stones defaced with polyurethane paint and graffiti
In 2008, the stones were defaced with polyurethane paint and graffiti with slogans such as "Death to the New World Order".[6] Wired magazine called the defacement "the first serious act of vandalism in the guidestones' history".[2]
In September 2014, an employee of the Elbert County maintenance department contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation when the stones were vandalized with graffiti including the phrase "I Am Isis, goddess of love".[7]
On May 1, 2022, Kandiss Taylor, a candidate running in the Georgia gubernatorial primary, released a campaign ad calling for the destruction of the Guidestones. [8]
2022 damage[edit]
Main article: Georgia Guidestones bombing
On July 6, 2022, an explosion hit the stones, taking out one of the slabs and causing significant damage to another. Nearby residents reportedly heard and felt explosions at around 4 a.m.
Description]
Inscriptions
A message consisting of a set of ten guidelines or principles is engraved on the Georgia Guidestones[11] 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, Traditional Chinese, and Russian.
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.
Explanatory tablet
An explanatory tablet is set alongside the stones
A few feet to the west of the monument, an additional granite ledger has been set level with the ground. This tablet identifies the structure and the languages used on it and lists various facts about the size, weight, and astronomical features of the stones, the date it was installed, and the sponsors of the project. It refers to a time capsule buried under the tablet, but blank spaces on the stone intended for filling in the dates on which the capsule was buried and is to be opened have not been inscribed, so it is uncertain if the time capsule was ever actually put in place.
The complete text of the explanatory tablet is detailed below. The tablet is somewhat inconsistent with respect to punctuation and misspells the word "pseudonym". The original spelling, punctuation, and line breaks in the text have been preserved in the transcription which follows (letter case is not). At the top center of the tablet is written:
The Georgia Guidestones Center cluster erected March 22, 1980
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