Trump, Trumpers, and the Ten Commandments

Recently Louisiana passed a low requiring public schools to display the Ten Commandments in the classrooms. I have often wondered why they did not require displaying the Bill of Rights in every classroom. I suspect one reasons is displaying the Ten Commandments is actually a violation of the First Amendment in the Bill of Rights and the powers that be do not want that to get out.

Before going farther, it is important to note every breaks the Commandments at one time or another. So this is not written from a position of morale supremacy, but a comment on the Commandments relating to Trump and by connection, his followers.

First of all a little history about the Commandments, Scholars do not know the exact time or date of the Commandments, with estimates as early as 1400 BC. They were likely oral tradition for years until they were actually written down by Jewish scribes. Interestingly, there are actually two versions of the Commandments, one in Exodus and the other in Deuteronomy. And there are significant differences. I wonder if the Louisiana powers that be knew this and if so, which version did they display. The reality is if you really want to understand the Commandments, the best option would be to study under a Jewish historical academic professor.

So let’s take a look at the Commandments, Trump, and Trumpers.

I – I am the Lord your God and you shall have no other Gods before Me. There is no doubt in my mind that Trumps Gods are money and power.
II – You shall not make idols. When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the original Commandments, he found his people worshiping a gold idol. He was so enraged he smashed the Commandments and melted the gold idol. I would suggest Trump’s idol is gold in all its forms today and the same for his wealthy supporters. One reason the very wealthy support Trump is he will cut their taxes, look the other way when they avoid paying taxes and help them increase their wealth at the cost of the rest of our society.
III – You should not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. Most everyone breaks this one if not publicly, then privately.
IV – Remember the Sabbath and to keep it holy. The Sabbath is a Saturday, but when Jesus’s resurrection took place on Sunday, the Christian church changed the day of worship to Sundays. So is going to church on a Sunday a violation of this Commandment. Also, do school activities on a Saturday violate this Commandment.
V – Honor your father and mother. I hope Trump does this because he got all of his money from his father who got it from his father, Trump’s grandfather. Trump is essentially a Trust fund baby as are his children. The money he has he did not make on his own, he inherited. On a different note, mother’s are women. So how can you honor mothers by restricting women’s rights and making them second class citizens. Remember, the Commandment says Father and Mother. Equals. Got it.
VI – You shall not kill. To my knowledge, Trump has not committed murder. But murder is very common in the US. In 2023, over 42,000 Americans died by gun violence including almost 2,000 children. Trump and his supporters oppose any restrictions that could reduce or end gun violence in the US. By so doing, are they violating the 6th Commandment?
VII – You shall not commit adultery. There is no doubt that Trump committed adultery with Storm Daniels. In 2023 was found legally liable for sexual assault. Trump’s first marriage ended when his first wife found out he was having affair with another women who he later had a child with and eventually married. These are the ones we know about, I wonder if there are more. It is interesting the leader of the group requiring the Commandments in the classroom is a very poor role model for their version of morality.
VIII – You shall not steal. When the Commandments were given, stealing was generally meant one member of the group taking [stealing] another member of group’s possessions. It was pretty simple concept. If your neighbor had an excellent axe and yours sucks, if you steal it, that broke the commandment. Note, a good axe was very important in biblical times. In today’s world stealing is more complicated, For example, Trump was recently convicted of fraud by a jury of his peers with the jurors approved by his attorneys. The penalty was $354 Million. Trump was convicted of stealing.
IX – You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. The question is not if Trump bears false witness. The question is when does he not bear false witness. As a a friend of mind who did watch the recent Presidential debate, after he said his name, “I am not sure Trump told the truth the rest of the time.” Trump is famous for lying. He still says the last election was no correct. It was, no evidence has been found to the contrary. He has consistently lied about the insurrection to over throw the election. His recent convictions prove he is a lier. So again, his supporters know he lies, which is violation of this commandment.
X – Thou shall not covet. This means wanting something or anything that is owned by someone else and is not ours. We all do this. For me, an interesting perspective on this is Trump and his supporters coveted the last election and when they lost, broke the IX Commandment by lying about it. By lying [bearing false witness], they tried to steal the election is breaks the VIII Commandment. So with one action, Trump and Trumpers, broke at least three Commandments.

My suggestion to Trump, Trumpers, and frankly anyone who plans to vote for Trump in the next election is to not worry about putting the Ten Commandments into the school system and worry more about putting the Commandments into their hearts and minds.

One last think, when asked what is the greatest commandment, Jesus said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. ‘ This is the greatest and first commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself“.

Whose your neighbor? Everyone! No exceptions. We all need to think of this.