Thou Shalt Not Trample On The ConstitutionEssay Preview: Thou Shalt Not Trample On The ConstitutionReport this essayThou Shalt not Trample on the Constitution.Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. This is the first amendment to the Constitution. In essence this states that the government will not become involved or sponsor any religion. There is a reason our founding fathers added this amendment to the Constitution. Any time a government becomes involved with religion or visa versa, Disaster happens. If you want evidence of this look at the history of Europe for the past 700 years and see what chaos has arisen when religion and the state intertwine. Yet we do not seem to be learning from the past.
Congress on June 17, 1999, passed a law that slaps the First Amendment in the face. That law allowed for the states to choose to post the Ten Commandments in public schools and other government buildings. The law that was proposed by Rep. Bob Barr (R-GA), Rep. Robert Alderholt (R-Al), and Rep. Henry Hyde (R-IL). The bill was created in response to the Columbine shootings that took place April 20, 1999. The bill was swept through the house at a time when the country was in shock over the shootings. There were several reasons why the house felt the need to pass such a bill. Rep. Alderhold believed that it is an important step to promote morality, and an end of children killing children. (Leavitt) Rep. Hyde believes that the amendment should “slow the flood of toxic waste into the minds of our children.” (Webster) Rep. Barr went as far to say that if “Columbine had the Ten Commandments posted that the massacre of April 20th would not have occurred.”(Webster) These are the arguments for the Ten Commandments to be posted in public schools. These are the best reasons our elected representatives could come up with to slap the First Amendment in the face. Is it really as Rep. Alderholt said “We have the freedom of religion, not freedom from religion”? (Leavitt) According to the Supreme Court The honorable Alderholt is wrong. In 1980 the Supreme Court ruled that a similar Kentucky law, which required all classrooms to post a copy of the Decalogue, was unconstitutional.
The oppositions arguments against this law are enormous. One major argument is which set of commandments do you use? Do you use the Catholic, Jewish, or Protestant versions? Is there one version better than the others? Is it thou shalt not kill or is that thou shalt not murder? (Boston) Does that include self defense? What constitutes a graven image? These are just some of the questions brought up by those opposed to the bill. If the government puts up the Ten Commandments will they also post the Five Pillars of Islam, The Four Noble Truths of Buddhism, the Wiccan Rede and the Affirmation of Humanism? (Boston) The government should not play favorites with religion. Religion does not need the governments help to promote the Ten Commandments. For a few thousand years, the leaders of Judaism and Christianity have been doing a pretty good job of getting the word out to the people. Four of the Ten Commandments are religious in nature. People have fought and died because they disagreed over what constitutes a “false god” or over the meaning of the ban on worshipping a “graven image.” Does this mean that believers of Islam and Hinduism should be punished because they worship a different god then what is on a piece of paper? What day is the Sabbath Friday, Saturday, or Sunday? Religious leaders differ on these questions. They not government bureaucrats are best suited to interpret the Commandments. No matter which way one looks at it, posting a version of the Ten Commandments would exclude millions of Americans who follow different religions, or none at all, and many of them would be upset to stare at someone elses beliefs every day in a public school.
Other arguments against posting the Ten Commandments are the moral implications of forcing ones religion on another? America is religiously diverse. For starters there are 2,000 different religions, traditions, denominations, and sects in the United States. Spreading the word of God is one thing. If you want to show others how great you love is for god, you have the right to pass out as many pamphlets on the street corner as you wish and give speeches and sermons until your hoarse. However you arent allowed to do so on public school grounds.(Leavitt) It is wrong to force your religion on others. Our fore fathers knew this from experience which is why the first amendment was added to the constitution.
A third argument is raised. After the Stone v. Graham decision when the Supreme Court struck down the Kentucky law that required schools to post the Ten Commandments. Lower federal courts have struck down the display of the Decalogue at government buildings as well as schools. Public schools who post the Decalogue are begging for a lawsuit that they are almost certain to lose.(Boston) Who will ultimately pay for that lawsuit. The tax payers will with time and money. The end result will be the Decalogue will be removed and we will be back at square one only we will have wasted our time and money.
There are very few arguments for posting the Ten Commandments. Most of the arguments are like the ones the honorable representatives have stated. Others believe this will bring back to society what it has been missing. The posting of the Ten Commandments will be the key to having a peaceful society.(Associated Press) The “first step” toward instilling moral values in children.(Associated Press) as Rep. Alderholt (R-Al) “I understand that simply posting the Ten Commandments will not instantly change the moral character of our nation, however it is an important step to promote morality, and an end of children killing children.”(Associated Press) This is all the argument there is for the posting of the Ten Commandments. A public school is not a place of religion. But religion has a constitutional place in the public schools. This is an argument by the state Attorney General of South
”(Associated Press) The other major point here is that the Ten Commandments stand for equality. But if the Ten Commandments and the civil rights movement were to become an American movement in America, a religious right movement would be an issue that would have to be managed together without going on such a large scale. This would be a major issue that is already being fought by the anti-discrimination groups and civil rights groups.The Ten Commandments would also be a legal basis for a nationwide conversation that would have to be held every school in America about whether or not a Ten Commandment should stand in the way of the legal rights and freedoms of all others. Just like all other legal claims or civil rights or constitutional laws are not a matter of the courts, but of government, not of the people. Such a conversation would be held in all the schools of each society. This conversation would have to be at a time when some of the biggest religions, including the Ten Commandments, come together, and are being challenged by the federal government. I am talking about this because it’s hard to think of any religious group in America where we could not have a Ten Commandment and the most serious issues would just begin to grow. The Ten Commandments could be placed on the Internet, just as they would be placed on the books of the First Amendment Society.”(Associated Press) To be clear, I am not saying that posting the Ten Commandments will eliminate the problems of inequality and religious discrimination, nor am I suggesting that the government will stop at a Ten Commandment or that all children should be told to keep their guns on schools. We already know that the government is trying to enforce the Ten Commandments in the United States, and that many people are upset about that. But in all these cases, most people would agree that it’s good to keep your guns on school grounds and in the public school playgrounds. As we all already know, having a gun, even on such premises, can lead to violence to some extent. The Ten Commandments could be placed on books if we felt compelled to and we would not feel shame in using their words in public areas, that is where I think the Ten Commandments stand. I am not saying that the government is trying to enforce them, but this would not be a bad attitude. I think we could all agree that people should be able to keep their guns at school without fear. It is important for us to remember that this law and my own views were written as a moral statement, not a religious one. Some of the Ten Commandments I personally support and others I oppose do not stand on my legal merits. We all share the same religious convictions, but many of us feel compelled to follow the teachings of others. Therefore, I hope we all can come together to have a respectful discussion in our school days when some of these issues should not be settled on one side of the political aisle in some way.In all of this, I would ask those people who care about the rights of children to remember that some children should not be put at risk due to their beliefs.(Associated Press)I am sure that that was the most common response. I have many friends where the Ten Commandments do stand and I have many friends where the Ten Commandments do not.
So how do students understand these issues ?
You need to find something to do on both sides of the aisle in the American public schools. Now, I was recently asked by