Dear Editor:
Over the course of the previous year, Christian nationalists in Texas pushed through Senate Bill 10, which requires public school classrooms in the state to display the Ten Commandments. The rationale behind this legislation is the claim that the Ten Commandments are integral to American history, and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has gone so far as to state: “From the beginning, the Ten Commandments have been irrevocably intertwined with America’s legal, moral and historical heritage.”
While oppositional rhetoric to Senate Bill 10 has overwhelmingly centered itself around questions of its constitutionality, there is another front of sincere criticism of this legislation which has yet to be seriously entertained. We may sum this up in a question: “Is it even true that the Ten Commandments have been irrevocably intertwined with America’s moral heritage?”
The recent events of the United States’ confrontation with Venezuela suggest this claim is an utter fabrication, a fanciful lie.
To begin with, the sixth commandment forbids murder. It is already an established fact that dozens of Venezuelans citizens have died in the most recent assault on their country. This only adds to the dozens of other casualties that resulted from previous illegal strikes on watercraft off the coast of Venezuela.
“Can we honestly claim the commandment ‘You shall not murder’ is irrevocably intertwined with America’s moral heritage?”
Can we honestly claim the commandment “You shall not murder” is irrevocably intertwined with America’s moral heritage in light of this (and in light of similar violent interventions in Iraq and elsewhere)?
Following that, the ninth commandment forbids bearing false witness against one’s neighbor. The present administration of our government has peddled several claims alleging that Venezuela is responsible for the trafficking of fentanyl into our country — claims credible sources have concluded are totally without evidence.
Can we honestly claim that the commandment “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor” is irrevocably intertwined with America’s moral heritage in light of this (and in light of false claims about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and elsewhere)?
And finally, the 10th commandment forbids covetousness whereas the eighth commandment forbids stealing. It is no secret that Donald Trump has openly declared his covetous intent to wrest control of Venezuela’s oil reserves from the Venezuelan people to American corporations. Now, with boots on the ground, he has expressed a resolute desire to steal it.
Can we honestly claim that the commandments “You shall not covet” and “You shall not steal” are irrevocably intertwined with America’s moral heritage in light of this (and in light of previous interventions)?
The moral of the story is this: The Christian nationalist claim that the United States has historically conducted itself in accordance with the moral commands of the Ten Commandments is a lie.
Furthermore, while I do not intend to speculate too much, I highly doubt that those who insist on posting the Ten Commandments in classrooms intend for the youth to test the immoral activities of our foreign policy against the moral injunctions of said commandments.
Taken together, the alleged rationale behind teaching the Ten Commandments to the youth is a farce — one that promotes the fantasy that our country has historically operated in accordance with their moral message while simultaneously refusing to honestly evaluate the morality of our government’s contemporary conduct.
GR. George, Burlington, N.C.