Osler's Razor

Oklahoma has allowed the erection of a Ten Commandments monument on the steps of the state Capitol.  Now, seeking equal accommodation, the Satanic Temple wants to put up its own monument there, possibly including "an interactive exhibit for children."

Hoo boy!  The Satanists, of course, have a point.  If a public square is going to accommodate expressions of religion, it probably can't choose which religions get to express themselves without getting into a Constitutional morass.  (This is different than a coin saying 'In God we trust," for example, because the coin can't accommodate multiple expressions and is not a public space like a plaza or Capitol lawn might be).

As I have written before, the idea that the Constitution is based on the Ten Commandments doesn't hold water (the First Amendment bars implementation by the state of the First Commandment, for example); the only real Christian virtue expressly contained in the Constitution is the pardon power's preservation of mercy.   Oklahoma's mistake is to allow private citizens to put up the Ten Commandments in the first place-- it both implies a false connection between church and state, and invites the Satanists in.


But... if they are going to have a Satanist Monument, couldn't it somehow involve Spinal Tap?