[MSN] Spend enough time listening to politicians, and eventually, one of them will tell you the truth.Political hit piece in the guise of news follows.
"I can't wait to be sued," Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry declared four days before signing a law last week mandating that all public school classrooms — from kindergarten to college — display a Protestant Christian version of the Ten Commandments.
Roman Catholics count them differently. I never asked how Jews number them; never seemed important. Protestants are a majority in the country, as are Christians. I doubt he'd particularly care if the Catholic numbering was used. They're the same rules. The point is, there have to be some rules, and those ten are a pretty good summation of why Judeo-Christian or any society works.
2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
3 “You shall have no other gods before me.
4 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
3 “You shall have no other gods before me.
4 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
Now, in my agnostic opinion, if you want to make a graven image and bow down to it, go ahead. You'll go to hell if there is one. Otherwise you'll just look really stoopid to the rest of us.
Roman Catholics combine these statements into a single First Commandment. Protestants split them into two, so the Cathlic second commandment becomes "Thou shalt not take the Lord's name in vain," which applies to swearing oaths, not saying "damn" or "hell" or even "shucks." From there they're in agreement, even though the numbers are off by one.:
- Remember the Sabbath (good advice, that, quite apart from religion; set aside a day a week to recuperate from the other six):
- Honor your father and your mother (you know why that's good advice if you're a father or a mother.).
- Thou shalt not commit murder (not even jihad, but not "thou shalt not kill anything.").
- Thou shalt not commit adultery (Be true to your wife; nothing in there about not looking at pretty girls)
- Thou shalt not steal (nor embazzle, cheat, cook books, or that sort of thing.).
- Thou shalt not bear false witness. (Telling your wife she's pretty when she looks like she just tumbled out of a cement mixer is okay.)
- Catholics split the covets into two: Thou shalt not covet they neighbor's wife, and thou shalt not covet they neighbor's goods. Protestant combine then into Thou shalt not covet.
That leaves us with seven (or eight, depending on your flavor preferences) rules that are essential to the smooth working of society. The first two (or three) might be controversial to Moslems and maybe Hindoos and such, but there's not much difference between "I am the Lord, your God" and "Allsh is God" except for the missing Mohammed part. And "thou shalt not have strange gods before me" doesn't say you can't drop a few pice or rupees into the poor box down at the temple of Vishnu.
Landry made that declaration not in his state's Capitol but nearly 600 miles away in Nashville, Tennessee, where he was the keynote speaker at a fundraiser for the Tennessee Republican Party.
I'm really not up on the Christian nationalist thing, probably because I'm agnostic. I suppose not believing the U.S.A. can financially continue trying to give money to the entire world and supporting the totality of every war being fought anywhere and supporting most currencies does make me a nationalist.
Courting his party's Christian nationalists with controversy is an excellent way to boost a fella's national profile. Getting sued and maybe having that case go to the U.S. Supreme Court, where a few justices might be willing to toss overboard decades of precedent, is even better.
That's a correct statement,though I suspect with unfriendly motives.
Landry was so giddy about those prospects that he didn't even notice when a maiden of tender years standing behind him during Wednesday's signing ceremony fainted and collapsed to the floor.
Maybe he just couldn't see her from where he was standing. I'm not sure what giddiness has to do with it. Maybe he's just not the sort of man who comes down with the vapors when somebody else does.
"If you want to respect the rule of law, you've got to start from the original law giver, which was Moses," Landry said as others rushed to the girl's aid and an analogy about priorities was born.
Related:
Jeff Landry 06/20/2024 Louisiana orders Ten Commandments poster in every classroom
Jeff Landry 03/07/2024 28th state - Louisiana Enacts Constitutional Carry
Jeff Landry 12/23/2023 Outgoing Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards pardons 40 murderers ‐ including man who stabbed store worker 39 times
Jeff Landry 06/20/2024 Louisiana orders Ten Commandments poster in every classroom
Jeff Landry 03/07/2024 28th state - Louisiana Enacts Constitutional Carry
Jeff Landry 12/23/2023 Outgoing Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards pardons 40 murderers ‐ including man who stabbed store worker 39 times