Ten Commandments needed more than ever

A new – and dangerous – phenomenon has introduced itself to American – that is, North American – politics. We see adherents of one political Party and its leader openly call for the assassination of the other leader. This wouldn’t have happened in American society immediately after the Great Awakening. James Carville got upset that his home State of Louisiana placed the Ten Commandments in every government-funded classroom. In fact we need those Ten Commandments displays everywhere, and monuments to them in every courthouse. If we do not make this happen, we risk degenerating into a savage, jungle-like society. Which some would like to see happen, believing that they would be the kings and queens of that jungle. The only law that would prevail, would be the Seven Deadly Sins.

Latest provocation

Two events appear (unless someone is running a psy-op) to have pushed Democrats and their adherents into abject mania:

• President Joe Biden’s appallingly poor performance in the Presidential Debate held June 27, 2024, and
• The ruling of the United States Supreme Court (Trump v. United States), defining Presidential immunity from prosecution of official acts.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor probably started it. In her dissent she named a series of totally wrong actions that, she alleged, the decision would let a President take. The worst two of these – because they are provocative statements that have provoked some people to make actionable threats – are:

1. Sending SEAL Team Six to carry out a political assassination, and
2. Engineering a military coup to take over the government, become President for Life, do away with all other institutions, etc.

Justice Sotomayor – and other detractors of Donald Trump, one of whom calls himself a conservative – should read the opinion. The Constitution sets forth Presidential duty and authority. When discharging such duty, the President enjoys absolute immunity from prosecution. But the minute he performs his duty improperly and in a self-serving manner, that immunity vanishes. Seal Team Six might indeed have to kill a modern imitator of Lucius Sergius Catiline. (That worthy tried to take over Rome by force in 65 B.C. – the Consulship of Cicero and Antony the Proud.) But Presidents don’t even have martial law powers – unless Congress, by calling forth the militia, for example, grants them.

Threatening and inciting to kill the former President

Nevertheless, in response, Members of Congress have threatened to push back against the Supreme Court. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) actually threatened mass impeachment. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), House Minority Leader, threatened unspecified legislative action. Rep. Joe Morelle (D-N.Y.) threatened to introduce a Constitutional amendment to roll back the decision.

One should probably expect that – even that all such threats have come from the New York Democratic House delegation. A State producing corrupt courts, would field corrupt House delegations. What one would not expect are TV stars actually calling on the incumbent President to use whatever powers they think the Supreme Court “granted” to Presidents, to order the assassination of President Trump before the election.

Actress (or actor?) Lea DeLaria did just that two days ago, according to The Hollywood Reporter – a legacy media organ. She posted a video to Instagram articulating her threat.

Herewith a partial transcript:

Joe [Biden], you’re a reasonable man. You don’t want to do this. But here’s the reality: This is a f*cking war. This is a war now, and we are fighting for our f*cking country. And these a**holes are going to take it away. They’re going to take it away. Thank you, [Supreme Court Justice] Clarence “Uncle” Thomas. Joe, you now have the right to take that bitch Trump out. Take him out, Joe. If he was Hitler, and this was 1940, would you take him out? Well, he is Hitler. And this is 1940. Take him the f*ck out! Blow him up, or they’ll blow us up. Facts.

And a comment (s)he added later:

It’s all out war now. They will destroy us. They only want power… like all tyrants. F*CK THEM!!! And if any of you a**holes wanna death threat me like you have been doing for my entire life, bring it on b*tch. I’m Sicilian, I know how to play that game.

Nor is she the only one, as The Daily Telegraph duly noted. But that’s not the worst. The worst is a similar such pronouncement from a BBC presenter. The New York Post has details.

If I was Biden I’d hurry up and have Trump murdered on the basis that he is a threat to America’s security.

Evidently David Aaronovitch deleted his post – or X Trust and Safety did it for him. He later claimed he did it as satire. Still, many users accused him of violating the BBC’s impartiality rules. (Ask James Carville what he thinks of journalistic impartiality!)

Why we need the Ten Commandments

People in prominent positions – even in media – say such things because no one told them that it was inherently evil. If the Ten Commandments had their once-prominent place in primary education, no one would dream of making statements like these, even as satire.

You shall not [commit] murder. Exodus 20:13

You have heard that the ancients were told, “You shall not commit murder” and “Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.” But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, “You good-for-nothing,” shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, “You moron,” shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell. Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering. Make friends quickly with your opponent at law while you are with him on the way, so that your opponent may not hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. Truly I say to you, you will not come out of there until you have paid up the last quadrant. Matthew 5:21-26

(The Roman quadrans, quadrantis was a coin worth two mites, or the wages of seven and one-half minutes.)

Indeed, Wrath (or more properly, Rage) is one of the Seven Deadly Sins. But no one outside of Christian circles even hears of the Seven Deadly Sins, much less the Ten Commandments.

Ronald Reagan said America was one generation away from losing its freedom. Actually any society is one generation away from losing all sense of moral order. Roger Baldwin banished God from the public square – with the misguided help of Rep. James G. Blaine (R-Maine), Speaker of the House of Representatives in 1875. The Supreme Court made a series of errors in furtherance of that unworthy goal.

Happily the Court – in its 2021 Term – began to correct those errors. Now it’s time for more States to follow Louisiana’s lead. But correcting the moral slide in this country will require more. To paraphrase Actor D. David Morin, as Prof. Russell Carlisle, in Time Changer (2002):

You cannot effectively teach the Teachings of Christ without the Christ of the Teachings.

Those Teachings include the Ten Commandments – all of them, in addition to the Commandment against murder. A society that taught them again, would be far safer than today’s.