Well, let's hand it to the U.S. House of Representatives. In a 248 - 180 vote this week, they chose to ignore the First Amendment to the Constitution they are sworn to uphold. They voted to allow the Ten Commandments to be displayed in public schools.
Yes, the very same Ten Commandments that have been ruled on numerous occasions to be a purely religious document, having no place on government-owned or operated property. Including public schools.
Republican Representative Robert Aderholt of Alabama says that placing the Decalogue in schools is the "first step" toward re-instilling the value of human life in children influenced by our oh-so-violent culture. Another Republican, Rep. Bob Barr of Georgia, said that if the Ten Commandments had been posted at Columbine High School, the massacre there would never have happened.
Yeah, right.
The ignorance shown by these two men, and many others, is truly staggering.
The Ten Commandments do not instill morality. I've spoken of this at length elsewhere, and won't repeat myself here. But even if they did, as long as our schools are government-funded, they have no place being displayed there.
One more time, a call to action. This bill will have to be approved by the Senate before it can become law. Even if it passes the Senate, the President could veto it, causing it to be submitted over again. However, the best thing is for this bill to never make it through the Senate.
Now, our Senators might very well see the unconstitutional nature of the bill all by themselves. But I wouldn't count on it. They need you to remind them.
Write, call, e-mail, telegram... do whatever you have to do to let your Senators know how you feel about this one. Let them know that you think the posting of the Commandments would not be a first step toward morality in our youth, but a first step toward a theocracy, a first step toward a loss of freedom in these United States.
