directive

On America Becoming a Christian Theocracy

Fandango17 Comments

Just four days ago I published a post about how the state of Louisiana had just enacted a law mandating that the Ten Commandments be prominently displayed in all public school classrooms grades Kindergarten through 12th grade and in all state-funded universities, making Louisiana the first state in the nation issue such a mandate.

Today, on my iPhone’s newsfeed I just saw this headline:

Oklahoma state superintendent orders public schools to teach the Bible in grades 5 through 12

Oklahoma’s top education official ordered public schools today to incorporate the Christian Bible into lessons for grades 5 through 12, the latest effort by conservatives to promote the Christian religion in secular, public school classrooms. The order sent to districts across the state by Republican State Superintendent Ryan Walters says adherence to the mandate is compulsory and immediate and strict compliance is expected.

“The Bible is an indispensable historical and cultural touchstone,” Walters said in a statement. “Without basic knowledge of it, Oklahoma students are unable to properly contextualize the foundation of our nation which is why Oklahoma educational standards provide for its instruction.”

The directive drew immediate condemnation from civil rights groups and supporters of the separation of church and state, with some calling it an abuse of power and a violation of the U.S. Constitution.

“Public schools are not Sunday schools,” said Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, in a statement. “This is textbook Christian Nationalism: Walters is abusing the power of his public office to impose his religious beliefs on everyone else’s children.”

The directive is the latest salvo in an effort by conservative-led states to target public schools: Louisiana has required them to post the Ten Commandments in classrooms, while others are under pressure to teach the Bible and ban books and lessons about race, sexual orientation, and gender identity.

I know that a lot of Christians believe that the United States either is or should be a Christian nation. But the fact is that the United States is a secular nation and it says so in the very first line of the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof

Requiring public schools to teach the Christian Bible is tantamount to the promotion of the Christian religion above any and all other religions, as America’s national religion. Will the next step be to ship Jewish kids, Muslim kids, and children having been brought up in non-Christian households to “Christian Indoctrination and Reeducation Camps”?

Can we count on the far-right, Christian fundamentalist majority on the Supreme Court to find that such an order is in clear violation of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution? I’m not holding my breath.

SoCS — Prime Time

Fandango10 Comments

Linda G. Hill has given us the word “prime” for today’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt and has instructed us to use it as an adjective or a verb, use it any way we’d like.

“Prime” is a very popular word in the English language. For television viewing, prime time in most places is defined as the three hour viewing time between the hours of 8 pm up to 11 pm.

And then there’s the job of prime minister, who is the leader of the government of a country with a parliamentary system of government.

Prime can be used to describe cuts of meat, like prime rib, or the quality of a cut of meat, like prime vs. choice.

And we can’t forget about prime numbers, which are whole numbers greater than 1 that cannot be exactly divided by any whole number other than itself and 1. I have no idea why that’s important, but apparently it is to mathematicians.

Speaking about numbers, there’s something called the prime interest rate, which is the interest rate that financial institutions in the U.S. charge their very best customers.

Prime can also be defined as the period of greatest physical and mental robustness, as in he’s in the prime of his life. Unlike me. I’m way past my prime.

That said, I’ve been a member of Amazon Prime, which entitles me to free shipping and often next day delivery on anything I buy from Amazon. I’m also subscriber to Amazon’s Prime Video streaming service.

But my favorite “prime” is The Prime Directive. Those of you who are Trekkies know what I’m talking about. The Prime Directive is Starfleet’s Non-Interference Principle. As Starfleet began sending fleets of ships deep into the unexplored regions of the galaxy it soon became clear that first contact in Star Trek was an important and delicate procedure.

The Prime Directive was devised to protect underdeveloped alien civilizations from interference by Starfleet, their crew, and the abundance of advanced technology that they possess. It prohibits Starfleet personnel from interfering with the natural development of a society for good or bad, and that has often meant that crews had to stand by as an entire civilization is wiped away by natural disasters or technological folly.

And on that positive note, I’m done.