A decade and a half apart, Ruth Bader Ginsberg and I— also Bernie— grew up in the same Brooklyn neighborhood, one that has since lapsed into a human garbage heap filled with unassimilated, fascist-oriented Russian migrants who turned it into a MAGA hellhole, but once one of America’s most liberal bastions. We all went to PS-197 and James Madison High School. For us, fascism was the enemy of mankind when we grew up and there were no Republicans around, at least none that I ever knew of. When I was 12, Senator John F Kennedy had to show he could excite liberals not just conservative Dems, so he came to Dubrow’s on 16th and Kings Highway around the corner from my house, possibly the most liberal spot in America. And people were adoring and it helped him clinch the nomination. (I got stepped on by a police horse and was brought inside Dubrow’s where all the Brooklyn party bosses were meeting with the future president. He came over and rubbed my injured foot and wished me well.)
Years earlier— 2 years before I was born, when she was in 8th grade— Ruth Bader Ginsberg wrote a school essay that mentioned the 10 Commandments, along with the Magna Carta, the 1689 English Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence as “great documents, great because of all the benefits to humanity which came about as results of their fine ideals and principles.” Louisiana theocrats produced this poster with RBG’s picture for state school classrooms:
Her granddaughter, reproductive rights attorney Clara Spera, wasn’t pleased with the way the Republicans are using the picture. “misleading the public,” she said. “The use of my grandmother’s image in Louisiana’s unconstitutional effort to display the Ten Commandments in public schools is misleading and an affront to her well-documented First Amendment jurisprudence. By placing the quote next to an official Supreme Court portrait of her in judicial robes and a jabot, Louisiana is misleading the public by suggesting that Justice Ginsburg made the statement about the Ten Commandments being among the world’s ‘four great documents’ while serving as a Supreme Court Justice.”
Lorena O’Neil reported that Spera “cites McCreary County v. ACLU, where Ginsburg joined the majority opinion that held that Ten Commandments displays in Kentucky courthouses and public schools violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. She continued ‘To me, and to others familiar with Justice Ginsburg’s legal writings and philosophy, there is no doubt that my grandmother would find that Louisiana’s effort to require public schools to display the Ten Commandments is a violation of the Constitution.’”
The Oklahoma theocrats— especial neo-fascist lunatic Ryan Walters, the state’s superintendent of education— are in a friendly contest with Louisiana to see who can bulldoze the wall that separates church and state most grievously and most quickly… and nobody’s counting out Texas either Yesterday Kayla Jimenez and Murray Evans reported that Walters “ordered public schools to teach the Bible and wants state funding for a controversial religious charter school. Louisiana leaders directed schools to display the Ten Commandment. Texas leaders proposed a curriculum that incorporates biblical lessons. Authorities in these Republican-led states are confidently taking on constitutional protections that bar religious instruction from public education. School administrators and civil rights advocates are pushing back, saying these mandates violate students' rights.”
Officials in all three states are counting on the reactionary Supreme Court to eventually rule in their favor. “Leaders in other Republican-run states have contacted Walters about Oklahoma's plan, he said, which he considers a modern-day ‘blueprint’ for codifying the teaching of the Bible in public schools.
The Supreme Court ruled in two separate cases in the 1960s that school-sponsored prayer and religious teaching in school violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, which says the federal government cannot make laws governing the “establishment of religion” or prohibiting “the free exercise thereof.”
The U.S. Department of Education has interpreted that to mean that public schools “may not provide religious instruction” in a devotional manner or “prescribe prayers to be recited by students or by school authorities.”
If educators teach about religion as an academic subject, they must promote religious liberty and respect all religious views, including the views of those who don't believe, the federal agency says.
Court cases challenging the use of the Bible, Ten Commandments and religious materials in classrooms have continued to crop up in the years since.
One of the most influential rulings came in 1971 when the Supreme Court ruled in Lemon v. Kurtzman that constitutional protections requiring the separation of church and state apply to public schools.
In his majority opinion, Chief Justice Warren Burger said laws about bringing religion into schools needed to pass a three-part test:
◾ They must “have a secular legislative purpose.”
◾ Their “principal or primary effect must be one that neither promotes nor inhibits religion.”
◾ They must not foster “excessive government entanglement with religion.”
…Over the last several decades, more than a dozen states tried to implement laws requiring the Ten Commandments in schools.
The Supreme Court ruled in 1980 in Stone v. Graham that a Kentucky law requiring schools to display the Ten Commandments was unconstitutional because it violated the Lemon v Kurtzman test.
Since then, Arizona, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas and Utah have proposed measures requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in classrooms at schools.
Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed the Arizona bill mandating displays of the Ten Commandments. Utah made it optional for schools to post them. A proposal in Oklahoma to make the displays optional died earlier this year when it wasn’t heard by a state House subcommittee.
…At a state board of education meeting on June 27, Walters gave a directive to school leaders in Oklahoma: “Every teacher and every classroom in the state will have a Bible in the classroom and will be teaching from the Bible in the classroom.”
At least 14 Oklahoma districts and the state teachers union rebuked Walters' directive to incorporate the Bible and the Ten Commandments into classes. They sent letters to parents saying they didn't plan to change the curriculum or teach the Bible despite the new requirements.
The Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office said state law already allows the Bible to be taught in classrooms, and districts have the right to choose whether they'll teach it this fall.
The Center for Education Law issued a memorandum to Oklahoma school districts calling Walters’ mandate invalid under state law, citing it as a local control issue.
But Walters says opting out is not an option.
“They will teach it because they don’t get to choose what they teach,” he told USA Today. Walters said at a recent school board meeting he would hold accountable any districts that refused to comply.
…The dispute is different in Louisiana because the order issued to schools was specific and uniform: Every classroom must display the Ten Commandments.
When Landry, the governor, signed the Louisiana bill in June he quipped that he was prepared to respond if anyone had any concerns.
“I’m going home to sign a bill that places the Ten Commandments in public classrooms,” Landry said in June. “And I can’t wait to be sued.”
Louisiana parents and civil liberties groups went on to sue the state, saying that requiring the Ten Commandments violates the First Amendment.
“Permanently posting the Ten Commandments in every Louisiana public-school classroom— rendering them unavoidable— unconstitutionally pressures students into religious observance, veneration, and adoption of the state’s favored religious scripture,” the complaint says.
In response, Louisiana has agreed to delay posting the Ten Commandments in public schools until at least November. The litigation is ongoing.
In Louisiana, Landry’s quip about eagerly awaiting lawsuits over the Ten Commandments mandate reveals a cynical disregard for constitutional principles. Civil liberties groups argue— correctly— that posting the Ten Commandments in classrooms coerces religious observance, violating the First Amendment. The ongoing litigation reflects a critical battle to preserve secular education and prevent theocratic encroachments.
The theocrats in these states, whose antecedents ignited the Civil War to defend slavery, are once again attempting to drag us back into a dark, reactionary past. Their assault on public education is not just an attack on secularism but on the very ideals of democracy and pluralism. As Americans, we must remain vigilant and resolute in defending the separation of church and state, ensuring that our schools remain bastions of inclusive, secular education for all.
Walters, a rabid, racist dog, is emblematic of the new breed of neo-Nazi Confederate ideologues attempting to transform public education into a vehicle for their reactionary agenda. He’s not just pushing policies that are constitutionally dubious but is also a figure mired in controversy and extremism. No one should be surprised to hear that politically, Walters has aligned himself with the most extreme factions of the Republican Party. His tenure has been marked by a series of incendiary remarks and policy proposals that have drawn criticism from educators, parents and civil rights organizations. His political career has been marked by his association with far-right groups and individuals, like notorious antisemite Marjorie Traitor Greene and child sex trafficker Matt Gaetz. He has publicly characters like these and others known for their extremist views and has adopted rhetoric that echoes the most divisive and inflammatory elements of the conservative movement. This alignment with the far-right has not only alienated moderate Republicans and independents but has also galvanized opposition from a broad coalition of educators, civil rights advocates, and community leaders who see his policies as a direct threat to the integrity of public education.
On a more personal level, Walters’ conduct has been completely fucked up. His confrontational and authoritarian leadership style has fostered a climate of fear and intimidation within the Oklahoma Department of Education. Staff members have described a toxic work environment where dissent isn’t tolerated, and where Walters’ unilateral decision-making has led to chaos and dysfunction. His aggressive tactics have also marred his interactions with school districts, where he keeps threatening to withhold funding and take punitive measures against anyone who resists his dubious mandates.
His educational experience is limited and makes him unfit for the position he holds. He lacks the necessary expertise to effectively oversee a state education system. His tenure as a teacher was brief, and his subsequent career has been characterized more by political maneuvering than by substantive contributions to education policy. This lack of experience and expertise has been evident in the poorly conceived and executed policies he has championed, which have often faced legal challenges and public backlash. His tenure as State Superintendent is a stark reminder of the dangers posed by ideologically driven and unqualified individuals in positions of power. His actions threaten not only the constitutional principles of church-state separation but also the quality and inclusiveness of public education in Oklahoma.
Throughout history, the dangers of theocracy have been well-documented, providing a cautionary tale about the perils of intertwining religion and government. Theocratic regimes, from the Puritanical colonies in early America to more recent examples like Iran, have consistently led to the erosion of individual freedoms, persecution of dissenters and the suppression of intellectual and cultural development. European history offers numerous examples as well: the Inquisition in Spain, the religious wars in France and the oppressive rule of the Church in various parts of medieval Europe all highlight the catastrophic consequences of theocratic rule. These historical lessons were not lost on the Founders, who were deeply educated men, well-versed in the works of Enlightenment thinkers like John Locke and Montesquieu. They understood that the separation of church and state was not merely a theoretical ideal but a practical necessity to ensure the preservation of liberty and justice.
The Founders' wisdom in crafting the First Amendment, which enshrines the principle of church-state separation, was a direct response to the tyrannies they had observed and experienced. They recognized that allowing any one religion to dominate the public sphere would invariably lead to oppression and conflict. This foresight has been a cornerstone of American democracy, fostering a pluralistic society where diverse beliefs can coexist without fear of government imposition. Figures like Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, who were instrumental in championing religious freedom, understood that protecting this principle was essential for the health of the republic.
In stark contrast, poorly educated contemporary figures like Jeff Landry and Ryan Walters, who lack the depth of education and historical understanding possessed by the Founders, seem oblivious to these crucial lessons. Their push to impose religious instruction and symbols in public schools reveals a dangerous ignorance of the constitutional protections designed to prevent such overreach. Unlike the educated Founders, Landry and Walters fail to grasp that their actions not only violate the Establishment Clause but also threaten to unravel the very fabric of American democracy. By ignoring the lessons of history, they are paving the way for a regression into a form of governance that the Founders explicitly sought to avoid. The actions of Landry, Walters, and their ilk represent a perilous drift toward theocracy, one that risks undermining the hard-won freedoms that define the United States.
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