Much has been written about the Supreme Court case of Van Orden v. Perry, which has at its center a monument of the Ten Commandments that has stood between the Texas State Capitol and the Texas Supreme Court in Austin since 1961. Thomas Van Orden wants to remove it. The state of Texas wants to keep it right where it is.
The Ten Commandments should stay right where they are -- in all cases. Various monuments, structures, and statues of the Ten Commandments can be found all over the U.S., including some highly visible spots in Washington, D.C. Courtesy of ?God in the Temples of Government,? a photo essay by Carrie Devorah in Human Events (the crusading national conservative weekly), we are reminded of three prominent monuments in the capital city: Moses and the Ten Commandments can be found in the rotunda of the Library of Congress, on the rear fa?e of the U.S. Supreme Court, and inside the Supreme Court?s courtroom.
The Ten Commandments are literally chiseled into the American way of life. But there is a campaign going on that would rid this country of any and all religious references. This is part of the ongoing culture war that would stop religious expression in politics and the public square, even though we remain the most religious of all the major industrial countries. Fortunately, brave people like state attorney general Greg Abbott, who recently argued the Texas position in Van Orden v. Perry before the Supremes, want to keep it that way.
Religion has always been central to our national identity. Religious references do not violate the First Amendment, which was never intended to bar all religious expression or discussion from national discourse. James Madison himself, the author of the First Amendment, was sworn in with his left hand on the Bible. So was George Washington, and, I believe, every president since.
The Ten Commandments provide the very foundation of our nation?s legal code. They also make up the basis of the moral values that thankfully guide us in our everyday lives.
I have a suspicion, however, that too many folks forget what?s on that list of commandments, or maybe never learned them in the first place. And even if we do know the Ten Commandments by heart, it never hurts to read them through and contemplate them from time to time. So here?s all ten: