Ah, yes, the Ten Commandments. I spent most of my primary and secondary education in Catholic schools, so I am familiar with them. Furthermore, I believe that they are for the most part valid and even correct in Judeo-Christian communities. Seventy years later, I still try to follow them.
The Ten Commandments are required to be posted in public places. Is this true?
These are, by definition, commands to do or not do certain things. The last five (steal, kill, etc.) make sense if you're trying to be a good person and follow religious, secular, and legal norms. On the other hand, commandments 1-4, while certainly important in a Judeo-Christian context, don't align with societal rules and regulations. For example, you can't be accused or convicted of displaying “false” idols. Not yet. And it doesn't make you a bad or evil person.
The hardest for me is the fifth commandment (Honor your father and mother). I honored my father and mother with all my heart when they were alive, and I continue to do so after they have passed away. However, I would never condemn, blame, condemn, or punish someone who does not honor their father and mother. This is a personal and very personal matter, not a legal, ethical, or moral one. I am thinking of people who have been repeatedly and brutally beaten by their parents for no reason, who have been raped by their parents, who have had their genitals mutilated by their parents. These people should not be “commanded” to honor their parents.
I propose that all the funds needed to produce tens of thousands of Ten Commandments posters be put towards teachers' salaries.
Alvin DuVernay III
New Orleans
