The Ten Commandments Folly

Given the history and religious composition of the nation, it is a travesty that tax dollars have to be spent to combat opposition to the display of the Ten Commandments in public buildings and on public grounds.

We hear so much about the people of other faiths being offended by the Ten Commandments. The Christians and Jews are fine with it. So who is opposed: the Muslims, Hindus, or the Buddhists? Or it is just the atheists?

Which of the commandments is of such great concern to the people of other faiths? Is the Murderers Lobby hard at work? Do a lot of folks want to covet on the Sabbath? Where would our politicians be without false witness?

Of course, posting the Ten Commandments at the Courthouse does very little to stop unsavory action. People going to court have already broken the law. Seriously, it has very little practical impact. However, and this is a big however, when the government acknowledges these moral foundations of civilization, it helps parents teach the Ten Commandments at home. That’s where it really matters.

We’re learning this week of religious symbols all over the Capital. Among the statues of lawgiver are many religious figures:

Here are the relief portraits above the gallery in the House chamber:

George Mason, Robert Joseph Pothier, Jean Baptiste Colbert, Edward I, Alfonso X, Gregory IX, Saint Louis, Justinian I, Tribonian, Lycurgus, Hammurabi, Moses, Solon, Papinian, Gaius, Maimonides, Suleiman, Innocent III, Simon de Montfort, Hugo Grotius, Sir William Blackstone, Napoleon I, and Thomas Jefferson.

There are 18 figures of lawgivers on the walls of the Supreme Court chamber:

Menes, Hammurabi, Moses, Solomon, Lycurgus, Solon, Draco, Confucius, Augustus, Napoleon, John Marshall, William Blackstone, Hugo Grotius, Louis IX, King John, Charlemagne, Muhammad, and Justinian.

--James Jewell