Monday, August 25, 2003

The Foundation of American Law? One of "Judge" Moore's arguments for having a monument to the Ten Commandments in the Alabama Supreme Court building is that they form the foundation of American law. Presumably, this means that our laws reflect those commandments. Let's take a look: Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Since the Bill of Rights prohibits the establishment of a religion, this one doesn't make the cut. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image . . . . Graven images are pretty much legal all the way around in the old U.S. of A. . . . but isn't that Ten Commandments monument a graven image? Just asking. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord in vain. Then there's that freedom of speech thing . . . . Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Nope. Honour thy father and thy mother. Good idea, but not exactly enshrined in American law. Thou shalt not kill. Hey! We got one! Thou shalt not commit adultery. The Puritans tried it, but in the end, a bad idea for the laws of men. Thou shalt not steal. There's two. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. I interpret false witness as any lie. We outlaw lies only in a very specific situation: during a legal proceding under oath (perjury). Thou shalt not covet . . . Not only is coveting legal in America, but our entire economic system is predicated on it. There you have it. Two out of ten. Or two and a half if you want to correlate bearing false witness and perjury. And can you name a religion that condones murder and stealing? If the Founding Fathers based American law on the Ten Commandments, they did a lousy job of it. Fortunately, since these rules -- for the most part -- could only be enforced by God and not mere mortals, they were wisely not made the foundation of this nation's laws. 6:30:31 PM    comment []

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