Selective indignation

Ten Commandments whining is a monument of hypocrisy

Well, that took about 5 zeptoseconds.

Oklahoma Republican representatives Tuesday called for judicial reform and the impeachment of seven Oklahoma Supreme Court justices who ruled that the 10 Commandments statue be removed from the Oklahoma Capitol.

For the love of Exodus, really? You disagree with a decision made by the Oklahoma Supreme Court and immediately call for the impeachment of its judges? 

Pout much?

This is the same group of statewide Republicans that threatened to impeach the court when it initially blocked the Clayton Lockett execution in 2014. The justices ultimately caved to the threat and allowed the execution to go through—and didn’t that end well?

(Incidentally, the Supreme Court of The United States [SCOTUS] recently ruled in favor of Oklahoma’s grisly execution protocols, prompting exactly no Democrats to call for their impeachment.)

Republicans’ handwringing the past two weeks has caused chafing. First SCOTUS reaffirmed Obamacare, then it said states could not stand in the way of same-sex marriages. And now that the Oklahoma Supreme Court has ruled the Ten Commandments monument unconstitutional, GOP officials are bemoaning the smoldering ruin of Jeffersonian Democracy our nation has become.

State Rep Kevin Calvey (R-OKC), who recently threatened to set himself on fire, said the commandments have an “undeniable historical significance as a foundation for U.S. law” and that “the court is imposing its own elitist political prejudices on the people.”

Yes, that’s the new party line—the statue is historical, not religious (oh, quit laughing)—and I’m shocked, shocked, that anyone would think otherwise. 

And now we take you to Montpelier Station, Virginia, where James Madison is spinning in his grave:

Every new and successful example, therefore, of a perfect separation between the ecclesiastical and civil matters, is of importance; and I have no doubt that every new example will succeed, as every past one has done, in showing that religion and Government will both exist in greater purity the less they are mixed together. 

And here’s John Adams and Thomas Jefferson on the subject.

Adams: “The government of the United States is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion.”

Jefferson: “Christianity neither is, nor ever was a part of the common law.”

More important than what our founders wrote in letters to contemporaries is what they wrote in the Constitution. The words “God,” and “Ten Commandments” never appear. Had they wanted us to follow Jesus or be reminded of the Commandments’ “historical significance,” they probably would have mentioned it. Meanwhile, they began the First Amendment: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion …” which seems to frown upon Christian-centric edifices in front of state capitols. This, too: Elected politicians swear on a Bible (if they choose to swear at all) to support and defend the Constitution—not the other way around. 

The statue is part piety, part punch line, part con. Paid for by Senator Mike Ritze (R-Broken Arrow), it has been misspelled, driven over and sold as a historical monument. Back when the monument was religious, the senator reminded us not to worry, because it wasn’t that religious. 

“The placement of this monument shall not be construed to mean that the State of Oklahoma favors any particular religion or denomination thereof over others …” 

Of course not. 

Thanks, by the way, for the two tiny Star of David engravings at the bottom—so thoughtful, so welcoming, so condescending.

The first commandment on the monument reads:

I AM the LORD thy God Thou Shalt Have No Other Gods Before Me 

Perfectly valid, unless you’re partial to the Jewish translation. 

“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other Gods before me.

That last part, the business about being brought out of Egypt, is kind of a big deal to Jews. Maimonides, in fact, argued it was the greatest Commandment. 

(And not for nothing, but Jews actually have 613 Commandments, so to really be inclusive, you’re going to need a bigger monument.)

Let’s move along to the fourth commandment.

Remember the Sabbath Day, to keep it holy.

Again, a valid Christian construct, as long as you agree when the Sabbath takes place. Sheryl Siddiqui, friend of the column and chair of the Islamic Council of Oklahoma, explains why this, too, is problematic: 

“Islam recognizes the Ten Commandments with one exception. We have no Sabbath per se. Friday is the day of the weekly congregational prayer, but every day is a holy day; every day there are five prayers; every day is a gift from God.”

So, your monument that doesn’t “favor” any denomination omits a seminal moment in one religion and a foundational precept in another. No wonder members of other faiths don’t want to pose for selfies with it.

Marlin Lavanhar, senior minister at All Souls Unitarian Church, is tired of the grandstanding:

“The version of the commandments in the current Oklahoma statue uses the most common Protestant wording and is inconsistent with the versions used by Catholics and Jews. I wish these legislators would stop trying to appeal to their constituents by building statues of the Ten Commandments and would instead try to attract people by simply living the commandments.” 

Bam!

You don’t have to be NPR’s Nina Totenberg to see the disingenuousness.

“It is becoming increasingly clear that the term ‘judicial independence’ has become a liberal code phrase for ‘undemocratic liberal dictatorial powers,’” Calvey said. “It is sad that the once-worthy concept of ‘judicial independence’ has been perverted by those engaging in politics from the bench.”

Please. 

Where was his and his party’s sadness when SCOTUS handed George W. Bush the 2000 election, when it established corporate personhood, or when it curtailed voting rights in Shelby County v. Holder? Where were the outrage and Justice Scalia’s warnings about “nine unelected judges subordinating the will of the people” when the court OK’d Christian prayers to open public meetings?

The GOP only decries judicial overreach when it loses. It is—wait for it—a monument of selective indignation.

“Views from the Plains” appears each issue and covers Oklahoma politics and culture—the disastrous, the unseemly, the incomprehensible … you know, the day-to-day stuff. Barry Friedman is a touring stand-up comedian, author and general rabble-rouser.

For more from Barry, read his thoughts on Senator Inhofe's tussle with the pope and Gov. Fallin's request for federal support for flood recovery.