RE: Your thoughts on Satanism and the petition for a Satanic statue.
September 9, 2015 at 6:44 pm
To get back to the point of the whole thing, the 10 Commandments don't represent this nation's laws. They're not the foundation of our laws or Constitution, and anyone who says otherwise failed US history in school. Most Commandments aren't applicable to actual legislation or jurisprudence (idols, the sabbath, coveting (outside of actual theft), cheating, honoring one's parents, etc.), and the rest are not unique to the Commandments at all. The proposed display - again, incorrectly - implies that the Commandments were the foundation upon which that state's laws were conceived. And that is troublesome. The message is "These laws are Christian laws. Not Muslim laws, Hindu laws, Wiccan laws, Voodoo laws, Satanic laws, etc. But Christian laws."
By approving the display of one particular brand of religion's symbolism, they've painted themselves into a corner. Either the visual implication - that this is the Christian god's country - is true, which is incredibly exclusionary and unconstitutional to boot, or that all religions have value when it comes to creating, implementing, and judging based on laws, and we're not picky about where our inspiration comes from.
That's why the best, and only, solution is to not have any such display.
By approving the display of one particular brand of religion's symbolism, they've painted themselves into a corner. Either the visual implication - that this is the Christian god's country - is true, which is incredibly exclusionary and unconstitutional to boot, or that all religions have value when it comes to creating, implementing, and judging based on laws, and we're not picky about where our inspiration comes from.
That's why the best, and only, solution is to not have any such display.
"I was thirsty for everything, but blood wasn't my style" - Live, "Voodoo Lady"
