by Harry Binswanger
Unchosen servile duties are unbefitting of the morality of a free people.
On June 19, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry signed a bill that would mandate display of the Ten Commandments in every public classroom in the state. Critics have plausibly argued that the law represents an unconstitutional violation of the First Amendment and have promised to sue to overturn it.
But no critics have challenged its claim that to celebrate the Commandments “faithfully reflects the understanding of the founders of our nation with respect to the necessity of civic morality to a functional self-government.”
Can a nation of freedom, individualism and the pursuit of happiness truly be based on the Ten Commandments?
To answer this, let’s look at the commandments. The wording differs among the Catholic, Protestant and Hebrew versions, but the content is the same.
The first commandment is: “I am the Lord thy God.”
As first, it is the fundamental. Its point is the assertion that the individual is not an independent being with a right to live his own life but the vassal of an invisible Lord. It says, in effect, “I own you; you must obey me.”
Could America be based on this? Is such a servile idea even consistent with what America represents: the land of the free, independent, sovereign individual who exists for his own sake? The question is rhetorical.
Read the rest: https://newideal.aynrand.org/the-ten-commandments-vs-america/
