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National NewsConservative News
Ten Commandments Cause Stir, Again
By Leisa Taylor
Posted on: December 21, 2004
I grew up in Mayberry. Actually, I grew up in Andalusia, Alabama. Andalusia is a small town near the Alabama-Florida border. For a sleepy, little southern town, it has garnered national attention in the last few weeks. It seems a renegade judge, the Honorable Ashley McKathan, has the Ten Commandments embroidered on his judicial robe. Further, it seems that his taste in wardrobe choices has made one of the local attorneys, the ACLU, and atheists uncomfortable. This has led to a continued rehashing of the controversy over separation of church and state. This issue has created quite a stir since the three major networks, CNN and Fox News have all appeared on the courthouse square to cover this story.
I am continuously amazed that people would object to the wearing or posting of the Ten Commandments. I wonder if they would prefer if Judge McKathan or Judge Moore had the Commandments embroidered or sculpted in the language of the Code of Alabama? Would that be any more palatable? All but the first commandment is contained within the Code of Alabama.
Also, those who claim that there is a separation between church and state in the Constitution are wrong! The First Amendment reads as follows:
"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."
Nowhere in the Constitution is the phrase "separation of church and state" specifically written. The first reference to separation of church and state was actually written by Thomas Jefferson in a letter to the Danbury Baptist Association of Connecticut on January 1, 1802, when he referred to a "wall of separation," referring to the phrase "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion." There is no guarantee of freedom FROM religion. Even Jefferson, who was a deist, recognized that there was a greater force at work than man. He was a great supporter of people's freedom to worship as they saw fit.
I cannot understand why all of the atheists are out in force on this one. If there is no God, then why all of the hullabaloo? Just ignore the less enlightened just as the great unwashed ignore the atheists and their raging.
I support Judge McKathan and his wearing of the robe. If a criminal defendant appears before a judge and he or she feels uncomfortable seeing the Ten Commandments, maybe they will think twice before committing the act with which they have been charged. Why should a criminal defendant be made to feel more comfortable than the average church/synagouge/mosque-goer on their specified day of worship?
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