No, the Decalogue is not the "foundation" of US law. I mean, yes, most US cities and states have prohibitions on killing and theft — but so do the laws of cities and states in China and India, which have nothing to do with the Ten Commandments. And such laws can be found in ancient civilizations long before Moses came down from the mountain (indeed, I seem to recall Moses got in trouble with Egyptian law over killing someone). And most of the Ten Commandments are either explicitly religious (monotheism, the Sabbath, blasphemy) or more broadly moral (parental honoring, adultery, covetousness), and are not reflected in the US Constitution or in the legal code.
Painting these kind of end runs as "oh, it's just about historical documents" is not only dishonest, but bad history. If people want to have displays of the Ten Commandments in their homes or in their churches or even in their private businesses, that's pretty much up to them. Making them a reflection of the government's preferences by posting them in the public schools and government buildings is bad policy and, incidentally, unconstitutional.
Ala. proposal to legalize Ten Commandments advances
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — A House committee approved a constitutional amendment Wednesday that would authorize governments and schools to display the Ten Commandments, but an American Civil Liberties Union …
Another action for which the #ACLU will be bashed, in spite of the fact they've done a lot to protect religious freedoms.
But, when you think that yours is the only legit religion… shrug
(not you, personally, of course)
There are some seriously (willfully?) naive people aiming to pass this law.
WHICH version of the Decalogue–have they even considered that can o’ worms?
The problem is this: the supporters of these massive displays are unable or unwilling to write them on the tablets of their hearts. Therefore, they must have them larger and more prominent so they can have help remembering what they are.
@Ellie – A fair point.
@Marina – “Why … the ONE, TRUE ONE, of course (as decided by the City Council / School Board, and most likely the KJV, even if those Catholics order ’em a little different, well, we’ll put them back in their place, too, eventually.”