Thursday, June 20, 2024
PMT: Louisiana and the 10 Commandments
The State of Louisiana just passed a law mandating that the Ten Commandments be posted in every classroom in the state. It's a terrible idea. The Ten Commandments directly conflict with the US Constitution-- and probably the best way to comply with the new law would be to post the Bill of Rights next to the Ten Commandments. I'll explain why (though I have already done that in an article you can read here after downloading it).
Consider the First Commandment: "Have no other Gods Before Me." Setting aside the assumption of other Gods there, this commandment directly contradicts the First Amendment, which sets out freedom of religion. The Second Commandment suffers the same problem-- the Constitution guarantees we can have graven images if we damn well want. The Third Commandment conflict with the Constitutional guarantee of freedom of speech. Our society has pretty much given up on 4 & 5. Really, the only commandments encompassed by American law and culture are 6 & 8-- and, if you think about it, any organized society bars theft and murder.
The 10 Commandments can be perfectly fine as a personal code, but lousy as a government mandate-- especially in a nation that has thrived under the Constitution we have. Our government can embrace one or the other, but not both-- and it seems that Louisiana has chosen Old Testament rules over the Constitution of the United States.
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Rather than post both - I believe public spaces should post the entire Constitution. IMO, we have a citizenry that is woefully ignorant of what we called civics when I was in school. And sadly it's most apparent when some of our elected officials open their mouths. So, put the Constitution out there where it's easily accessible - schools, yes, but also courthouses, government offices, post offices, everywhere possible. Folks will still disagree on interpretation but at least the words will be OUT THERE, available. My 2 cents, FWIW.
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