Those like Charles A. Kerr II (Tuesday letters, “Rules are the basis of our legal system”) who use the argument that the Ten Commandments are ancient so not really Christian, I say, who cares?
The monument in discussion sure is. It is one of those placed across the country by the Fraternal Order of Eagles in the 1950s, some of which honored the new movie, “The Ten Commandments,” starring the beloved Charlton Heston. You can’t get much more Christian than that.
Kerr asks us to take each commandment and analyze it in relation to law. I guess we start with, “Thou shalt have no other Gods before Me.” The framers kept religion out of the Constitution, so this has nothing to do with law. Then there is an abomination against creating a graven image, while the Constitution allows free expression, which includes blasphemy, by the way.
“Remember the Sabbath and keep it Holy.” The only place that would be law would be in a theocracy.
As with, “Honor they mother and thy father,” I had a mother that I honor to this day and a father who was an egotistical ass that I do not. I didn’t pick him.
The rest, killing, adultery, stealing, lying and peeking in windows are such ancient taboos we do not need religious tracts placed in public places to remind us that they represent very bad behavior.
I suggest that those who demand that the commandments be posted on public property are far more interested in promoting the first five than the last.
The framers wrote a Constitution that established our country as a representative republic, not a democracy. They knew full well that in a democracy the majority has the power to dictate the rights of the minority and squash them like unbelieving bugs if they wish. Thankfully, we are protected by the Constitution; at least I thought we were.
JAMES EAGON
Snohomish
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