Opinion | Posting the Ten Commandments in Classrooms

To the Editor:

Re “U.S. Appeals Court Upholds Texas Ten Commandments Law” (news article, April 23):

What’s the difference between teaching the Bible as literature and posting the Ten Commandments in a classroom?

Teaching the Bible as literature is no different from teaching Shakespeare’s plays. It makes no claims about the religious authority of the Bible, nor does it treat the biblical narrative as true. Such things are unconnected to gaining an appreciation of the Bible as a work of literature.

In stark contrast, posting the Ten Commandments in a public school classroom gives the unmistakable impression that they are authoritative and have the endorsement of the state. Indeed, it is the clear intention of the Texas law to communicate this message to both public school students and the public at large.

This is why two lower courts rightly struck down the law as a violation of the First Amendment’s establishment clause. And it is why the Supreme Court must reverse the appellate court’s decision to uphold the law.

Stephen L. Newman
Toronto
The writer is a professor emeritus of politics at York University.

To the Editor:

You report that the Texas law was part of “a push to infuse Christianity into public schools.” But the Ten Commandments can hardly be considered just Christian, since they were given to Moses some 1,500 years before there were any Christians and were intended for a wandering group of Semitic people. If anything, they could be considered Hebraic. Posting them is not likely to have any influence in any case.

Texans, and Americans in general, most of whom would surely be familiar with these prescriptions, have gleefully violated each of them every day since colonists and slave ships arrived on our shores, and continue to ignore them. Requiring that they be posted conspicuously in every schoolroom does appear unconstitutional, but they won’t hurt anybody!

John T. Dillon
West Caldwell, N.J.

To the Editor:

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion,” according to the First Amendment.

The law in Texas requiring “conspicuous” display of the Ten Commandments in classrooms is clearly “an establishment” of Judeo-Christian religious doctrine. It’s unconstitutional.

Would the appeals court, and the cheering officials and religious groups, also endorse the display of Shariah laws? Why can’t they stick with rules of basic civility and ethics, and promote age-appropriate discussions of their sources, their ubiquity and the variations across civilizations?

Bonnie Selterman
Chappaqua, N.Y.

A Job Seeker’s Tale

To the Editor:

Re “There’s Another Reason Gen Z Can’t Find Work,” by Jessica Grose (Opinion, April 24):

I’m in my early 20s, nearly two years out of college, and still trying to grasp the first rung of the ladder. It’s very discouraging, to say the least.

Sometimes I worry that I do possess the characteristics that older generations tend to label mine: cynical (it’s been a year), no work ethic (I do need a third job), historically illiterate (as a college-educated person, should I have foreseen this job market, administration, etc.? Probably, but I was busy living my life).

I’m not so naïve that I thought showing off my two bachelor’s degrees would get me a job. That’s why I have relevant internship experience. I desperately want to continue honing those skills and learning new ones. And I’m not asking for a $100,000 salary. I know I’ll never make that much; last month, in the third largest city in the country, I was a finalist for a job that paid $38,000.

When I do get interviews for these coveted entry-level white-collar jobs, the question I find hardest to answer is “Where do you see yourself in five years?” Does anyone really have an answer to that?

To the Editor:

Re “Movies Are Bullying Us With Their Bloat,” by Frank Bruni (Opinion, April 23):