meanwhile, they're dancing around a golden calf - 8.20.03
Ten Commandments in Court
The Ten Commandments of Moses - Judaic ethics in a nutshell. In case you've forgotten, here's a version:
I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
1. You shall have no other gods before me.
2. You shall not make yourself any carved image, or any likeness of anything that is heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of your fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
3. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.
4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your manservant, nor your maidservant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.
5. Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
6. You shall not kill.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
10. You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's.
So, basically, Moses says God want us to be a monotheist, give one day out of every seven to God, don't claim to be demi-god, be nice to your parents, be honest, trustworthy and nonviolent, and try to be content.
This is not the most controversial religious text in the world, that's for certain. It's a thing of beauty, tested by time. Even if you're not a monotheist (perhaps a Hindu), the ethics look pretty reasonable otherwise. Best of all, unlike so many religious documents it's remarkably succinct and clear, if not easy to adhere to.
But lately, right wingers have been using it to grandstand, e.g. Alabama State Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore. [link] The posting of the Ten Commandments of Moses in courthouses and other public places is obviously intended to cause a controversy for political advantage.
So getting at last to the point: does posting of the Ten Commandments of Moses violate the establishment clause of the U.S. Constitution? Those who support posting the Commandments in public buildings sometimes say it's merely an object, and doesn't establish a law of any kind. The counterpoint is, "okay, then why are you stirring up a hornet's nest by doing it?" [answer: it gets votes]
A thought experiment
Here's a interesting thought experiment. Imagine the bigdumbHoosier's questioning a mythical Imaginary Justice from the state of Texabama, in a fact situation similar to that facing the real Justice Moore. Here goes:
bdH - "Imaginary Justice, you arranged to have the Ten Commandments of Moses installed in the lobby of the courthouse of the Texabama State Supreme Court in a lovely three ton marble statute, right?"
Imaginary Justice - "That's correct. All with privately contributed money, of course."
bdH - "Of course. Mr. Imaginary Justice, sir, you've read the Ten Commandments and are familiar with them, are you not?"
Mr. Imaginary Justice - "I certainly have, and I know them by heart."
bdH - "That's admirable Mr. Imaginary Justice; now I know nobody's perfect, but let me ask you this, do you try to follow them?"
Mr. Imaginary Justice - "Well, of course we're all sinners, even high court judges [chuckles heard throughout the courtroom], but yes, I honestly can say I try to follow them."
bdH - "Do you think everybody should try to follow them?"
Mr. Imaginary Justice - "American's are free to choose, it's a free country. The Constitution of the United States and the great state of Texabama both guarantee that. But I think they'd be better off - I think we'd all be better off - if everybody followed the Ten Commandments, yes. The founding fathers, they were God-fearing Christians, you know."
bdH - "Thank you, Mr. Imaginary Justice. Now, let me just ask you this; do you apply the Ten Commandments in making decisions in your court?"
Mr. Imaginary Justice - "Yes, of course."
bdH - "So it's fair to say that the Law of Moses is the law in your courtroom too?"
Mr. Imaginary Justice - "Yes, it's God's law. God Bless America!"
[As they say in math class, QED. The Ten Commandments of Moses are a wonderful document, but they're not valid legal authority: just try to find them in the state code. Even in Texabama. More precisely, the criminal parts are in the code (e.g. no killing, stealing or telling a lie under oath), the religious and ethical parts are not (e.g. being nice to your parents, observing the Sabbath, being content with what you have). A smallsmartNewYorker would probably stop his examination at this point, but the bigdumbHoosier feels compelled to ask just a few more questions:]
The killin's okay, just don't murder nobody
bdH - "Yes sir Mr. Imaginary Justice, God Bless America! So, how many prisoners has Texabama executed during your tenure as Chief Justice?"
Mr. Imaginary Justice - "I'm not sure of the exact number..."
bdH - "Well I guess you don't put notches on the bench, right? [awkward silence] Ummm, if I told you that according to official statistics 26 people have been intentionally put to death by the state of Texabama during your tenure, would you disagree with that?"
Mr. Imaginary Justice - "Well, that sounds about right..."
bdH - "All of them go up for a mandatory appeal to the state Supreme Court, right?"
Mr. Imaginary Justice - "Yes that's true; we've been trying to reduce those delays, but regrettably, yes."
bdH - "So you've authorized the execution of, let's see, 23 men and 3 women; oh and one of the 'men' was 17 years old, right?"
Mr. Imaginary Justice - "Now listen here, councilor,they all received fair trials. We review them carefully I can assure you. These are vicious heinous criminals. Enemies of civilized society."
bdH - "Granted, at least arguendo your honor. But you killed them, wouldn't you say. Doesn't that put you pretty squarely at odds with number 6?"
Mr. Imaginary Justice - "Oh, so you still think number six is 'thou shalt not kill'; I guess you haven't been to Sunday school lately! [chuckles throughout the courtroom] A better translation, you know, is murder. Number six is 'don't commit murder'. And in this state, we mean it." [applause erupts briefly]
bdH - "So killing is okay with God, you just shouldn't murder...that means you haven't violated a commandment if, for example, you kill somebody in self-defense?"
Mr. Imaginary Justice - "Right; that's killing but it's not murder."
bdH - "It's either you or him, right, and God's commandments don't require that you commit suicide? After all, God wants his chosen people to live to be fruitful and multiply, right?"
Mr. Imaginary Justice - "Ummm, yes, I think that sounds reasonable, though I don't feel very comfortable claiming to know God's will. What's your point anyway? I certainly don't like signing those execution orders, believe me. But these people, well they're really just animals anyway - they do horrible things. If everybody followed the Ten Commandments, then I guess we wouldn't have to execute anybody. Anyway, the people of Texabama demand justice."
bdH - "So you have a guy (most likely a very bad guy, though mistakes are made)...you have him locked up in a steel cell, under total control. Then one day you send a few burly guards down to his cell to take him for a walk him down a hallway. Somebody injects deadly chemicals into his bloodstream while a few people watch through a window. If you're not so sure about God's will, aren't you a little uncomfortable that possibly that whole sequence of events might look a lot more like murder than, say self defense? To God, I mean; if not to the fine citizens of Texabama?"
Objection, badgering the witness!
I'll let you decide how the right Honorable Imaginary Chief Justice of Texabama would answer this last question. My guess is that he wouldn't. Actually, I'm picturing a bigdumbHoosier, a rail, some tar, a few chicken feathers.
I don't claim my thought experiment answers anything, but I think it shows that posting the Ten Commandments in a public courthouse is at least awfully close to violating the establishment clause.
Call 'em annoying and drop it.
The worst part is the grandstanding. When Moses came down off the mountain with the tablets and found the unwashed masses of Israel dancing around a golden calf, he gave his people a dose of divine rage. Politicians (even ones who are running for judicial posts) that manipulate yer' average Texabaman by embroiling such a noble and ancient document in partisan politics are not at all heroic.
Such people should be criticized as unsuited for judicial office, because they are stirring up a controversy for personal gain. Their job is to help solve controversies; you'd think they'd get a bellyfull of trouble just doing their job. It's also unjudicial to unduly attract attention to oneself.
It's a subject worthy of discussion and debate, but not one worthy of 'going to war' over. Those who seek social justice would do well to fight other battles.
In truth, just about anybody (regardless of religion or lack thereof) would be pretty happy with a judge who reflected on the Ten Commandments of Moses in his or her daily life, and at least in general, in his or her decisions from the bench. It would be nice if the politician/judges who grandstand over posting the Ten Commandments would at least try to adhere to them as well, even when the citizens of Texabama are found to be dancing around the golden calf called capital punishment.
[Follow-up note: after I wrote this piece I got a better look at the monument in the Alabama Supreme Court lobby, on CNN. It features a sort of short hand version of the commandments omitting references to donkeys and maidservants. What's more interesting is that number 6 is the traditional 'Thou Shalt Not Kill'; perhaps Chief Justice Moore is actually making a statement against capital punishment and folks just aren't getting it. My story, however, is set in the mythical state of Texabama.]
