Forcing the Issue. Part I

IN ONE RED STATE AFTER ANOTHER, the Republican party, buffered, anchored by the MAGA insurrretionist mob, is proposing legislation which is blatantly, egregiously unconstitutional. It almost seems as if the sponsoers,supporters and promulgators of this nonsense are doing it only out of spite, pushing the envelope as we say today, testing the waters as they used to say, or, in a word, making trouble. A bill is ready for presentation in the Oklahoma state legislature that would make it mandatory for every classroom in every public school in the conservative Christian reprobate sate of Oklahoma to display "The Ten Commandments" on the wall, prominently, in a format no smaller that eleven inches by sixteen inches, preferrably larger,much larger. Preferrably framed or even guilded with gold, with the option of hanging a cross directly below God's orders. Perhaps, even an alter,vestments, and candles, replete with lecturn and podium, and congregational pews, which are mostly already effectively part of every classroom in most schools. The alter being the teacher's desk, the pews, the student's desks. In lawsuit after lawsuit accross America's fruited plane courts have ruled that this is unconstitutional, a violation of the first amendment, that widely misunderstood little sentence having to do with church, state, and the spearation thereof. Every ruling ever issued by every version of the United States Supreme Court over the years clearly supports the same conclusion. "Congress shall make no law..regarding...establishment..religion..or, preventing... free exercise therof....The Ten Commandments (respect requires capitalization) can by law be displayed on any piece of private property in the land of opportunity, but not on public, civic soil. The law says nothing about scriptural display of any of the world's other several thousand religions, almost all of which have votaries in America, legal citizens without religious representation in government. That, in a nutshell, is discriminatory, or, at best, mob rule, a dictatorship of the majority, against which the foudners also took measures, most particularlt, by creating plutocratic republic, rather than an actual democracy. The next step is of course for the lawsuits to start flinging, with the inevitable delays, motions, depositions, testimony, and endless appeals before finally, at long last, the SCOTUS overturns the idiot law.(assuming that the law is actually passed and signed into law in Oklahoma, which may or may not happen, but somehow seems likely, if not inevitable). And yes, even our current far right wing extremist conservative Catholic Christian hand picked Republican disgrace of a high court will do precisely that, for, sadly to some, it has no other choice, but to flush all precedent law down the proverbial toilet. On the other hand, it has already done precisely that...Menawhile, the Commandments will likely stay in the storage closet, stayed by a federal court from display prior to any potential future court approval. Its all so silly. But maybe it will have ultimately the beneficial effect of solidifying, reinforcing the seperation of church and state in these United States, so sacred to the fundamental beliefs and values upon which America was founded, and so important to the founders themselves. These myopic religious fanatics who want to impose their personal religious opinions and their chosen religions upon our secular democracy have conveniently forgotten several facts. First, anybody can pray anytime, anywhere one wants to, with or without anyone's approval or permission, including the government's. Jesus instructed us to pray in private, not in public groups, where it is tempting to show off one's piety in fornt of others. Also, God has not been removed from our public schools or our soceity, and neednt' be replaced there by legislation or mob violence. God has always been, is, shall forever be firmly ensconced withitn the hearts and souls of all who seek hom/her.,, just where he/she belongs. And, for that matter, how do we know that God is a Christian, rather than a Moslum, a Hindu, or a votary of some other religion on some other planet? The answer is, we don't.