Holy War in Alabama

Do the Ten Commandments harm non-Judeo/Christians? You would think so with all the ranting and raving to get the statue of the revered tablets out of the Alabama courthouse. Show me the harm, however, and I’ll agree to move that icon of our legal system. Until then, leave it be.

First, an individual who happens to be in charge of at least part of that building installed it at no cost to the public. That person did it as a religious acknowledgement, but it need not be viewed in the same light as it was placed. In other words, no matter what reason the Judge chose to place the Ten Commandments statue into the lobby of the courthouse, I can see it in a non-religious way.

The Ten Commandments are merely one of many items that form the foundation for our nation’s legal system. Placing that statue in the courthouse is no different than a teacher placing a portrait of his favorite president in his classroom, at his own expense. Are we to argue that the teacher is favoring whatever party that particular president was a member of? Of course not, or have I opened up a new can of worms?

If nothing else, laws should be consistent. If we can have “In God We Trust” on our money, and if we may swear on a Bible in Court, or take an oath mentioning God in a public swearing in, why can we not acknowledge an important foundation of our laws in, of all places, a courthouse.

Leave them be; let the tablets, those reminders of our society’s spiritual mythology, those foundations of law, remain as a religious inspiration to some, a mythological symbol to others, and a reminder of our legal foundations to yet another. Such foolery as we are seeing regarding religious icons in public places is going much too far. They are harmless to non-believers, such as myself, and inspirational to others. Leave them be.