Thou Shalt Not

Second grader raises hand: “Mrs. Jones, what’s ‘adultery’?”

Mrs. Jones: [long, awkward pause] “Um….”

So, Louisiana just went there, signing a bill that requires a large copy of the Ten Commandments to be prominently displayed in all public-school classrooms from kindergarten through 12^th grade.  This is a clear violation of the separation of church and state. Something like this was already ruled on back in 1980; in Stone v. Graham, the Supreme Court ruled that placing the Ten Commandments in Kentucky schoolrooms violated the Establishment Clause.

But here’s Louisiana governor Jeff Landry making a big deal out of signing this bill…as a little girl faints dead-away behind him. (If I were the superstitious type, I’d take this as a sign, Jeff --and not a good one).

Civil liberties groups are up in arms, filing lawsuits against this ruling. This, of course, is exactly what Landry wants; he hopes to argue it all the way up to the Supreme Court. Considering what we’ve learned about the hyper-religious bent of justices including Alito and Coney Barrett, this should prove interesting.

Donald Trump has been courting the evangelical vote even more aggressively than he did in 2016. Although he personally could give a fig about being a “Christian” and clearly doesn’t live by any of those Commandments, he’s all-in on injecting a heavy dose of Christian Nationalism into our democracy should he win.

It’s about raw power.

And that also goes for those who will use Trump as their tool to have ultimate control over every aspect of our society. If you haven’t yet read Project 2025, you need to (Pro Tip: keep a drink or three nearby).

Those supporting the Ten Commandments in classrooms argue that they’re sick of seeing rainbow flags or “Black Lives Matter” paraphernalia, so this is their counterweight. Ironic, considering that both of those movements are about inclusion and acceptance, two things Jesus was big on.

Of course, when confronted with the idea of giving other recognized belief systems equal time in the classroom, there’s a whole lot of “hummana hummana.” For example, if posting the Ten Commandments is OK, how about the Five Pillars of Islam? The Four Noble Truths of Buddhism? Or (my favorite) the Seven Tenets of Satanism?  Naturally, that would be a hard “no” from the fundamentalist brigade.

This latest stunt in Louisiana is a warning that the hyper-religious won’t stop until their particular views are the law of the land. We’ve seen this movie before: the Crusades, the Reformation, the Nazis, Father Charles Coughlin in the 1930s and the Taliban in the 90s.

It never ends well. Never.

If you haven’t yet done so, register to vote or check your current registration (many GOP-led states have been quietly purging the rolls). Then, vote for the party/candidates who won’t turn your kids’ public school into their church.

Can I get an “amen”?

Cindy Grogan is a writer, lover of history and "Star Trek" (TOS), and hardcore politics junkie. There was that one time she campaigned for Gerald Ford (yikes), but ever since, she's been devoted to Democratic and progressive policies.