Dear Nebraska Legislators, 

I know you’re thinking about it but DON’T DO IT! I have no doubt some of you are looking at what Louisiana and Oklahoma have done and you’re thinking “Maybe we should demand they put the Ten Commandments in our public schools as well. DON’T! Just DON’T!

If you’re thinking I’m some liberal atheist, let me assure you I am not.  The first ten years of my education were spent in Catholic schools. Next to my parents, the person who had the most influence on my early years was Sister Marlene.  I do believe in a higher power.

I also believe that everyone must find their own spiritual journey.  I believe that others have the right to practice their religious beliefs or not practice any religious beliefs as they see fit. I most definitely believe that the government should stay out of anything to do with religion. 

There are parts of the Ten Commandments that Public Schools could teach. They should instill that the children don’t kill anyone, or steal anything, and that they should respect their parents. They probably don’t have to worry about many 4th graders coveting their neighbor’s wives. 

However, the schools must stay away from teaching the parts of the Commandments that deal with religion.  The public schools are not the place to teach about keeping the Sabbath holy or honoring the Lord thy God.  If parents want their kids to learn that in school, they should send them to a religious school as my parents did. 

I don’t think this would be a high priority in the next Unicameral session since the Governor is focusing on property tax reform. But one of the ways he wants to do that is to give more power to the state and less local control when it comes to funding the public schools.  That could make it easier to mandate something like this by giving more power to Lincoln bureaucrats and less control to local school boards. 

Now am I being paranoid about this issue considering that this proposal hasn’t been brought up in Nebraska?  I don’t think so. 

Here are a few of the reasons why:

• In the past, I would have felt confident that the Supreme Court would rule that forcing the Commandments on public schools would be unconstitutional.  I’m not 100% confident of that anymore.
• I’m also concerned about Project 2025.  A proposal by the conservative think tank, the Heritage Foundation, that would reshape our federal government if the Republicans were to regain control of the White House.  Project 2025 among other things makes no bones about the fact that they want to infuse the government with a more Christian foundation.  They also want to dismantle the Department of Education.
• According to the National Center for Education Statistics, when it comes to literacy of the fifty states, Louisiana ranks 45th and Oklahoma ranks 30th. Maybe they should be more concerned with that before they worry about forcing religion on the kids. Nebraska ranks 16th.  Not too bad but it can be better. 

I do not doubt that there are state Senators who are tempted to follow Louisiana and Oklahoma’s lead.  I pray that those senators lead us not into that temptation. 

I support the right for everyone to pray to the God of their choice as long as they aren’t using their religion as an excuse to hurt or persecute others.  I also support the separation of religion from all government activities.   A person’s faith is a very personal thing that should be respected. The government should not try to force any belief on others. 

The First Amendment clearly states that Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.  That should be taught in the schools and not the Ten Commandments.

So, in closing, Senators, when it comes to putting the Ten Commandments in the public schools.  DON’T! JUST DON’T. 

Tom Becka is a long time Nebraska broadcaster who for over 30 years has been covering Omaha and Midwest issues on both radio and TV. He has been a guest on numerous national cable and news shows, filled in for nationally syndicated talk radio programs and Talkers Magazine has recognized him as one of the Top 100 talk show hosts in the country 10 times. Never afraid to ruffle some feathers, his ‘Becka’s Beat’ commentaries can be found online on Youtube and other digital platforms.