Here's a piece I wrote for Style Weekly's Back Page in the summer of 1999. I don't remember what the title I suggested was. The editor of that page, Rozanne Epps, changed it to "Do Unto Others."
Do Unto Others
by F.T. Rea
The
Ten Commandments have made an unexpected comeback this season. In the
wake of recent teen violence, we have heard from pundits and legislators
alike who say that posting this excerpt of the Bible on public school
walls will help potentially dangerous students avoid running off the
tracks.
OK, what’s the harm?
Well,
when the guy across the street claims the Koran says it better, what do
you say back to him? Next, the lady down the block says that the I
Ching is more to the point. And so forth …
Ultimately,
I’ve got to believe that the Supreme Court is going to have a serious
quarrel with the notion of displaying selected portions of the Old
Testament in public schools.
So
regardless of the good intentions of those who would put the law
according to Moses in the classroom, the First Amendment and a mile of
legal precedent tells us: The state can’t establish one particular
religion.
Yet I do
sympathize with those who want to introduce children to the concept of
absolutes. And, I wholeheartedly agree with those who observe that
morality seems to be evaporating out of modern life.
The
essential line between a healthy desire to improve one’s lot in life
and in being so greedy that you’re a menace to society is getting more
blurred all the time. Without morality, I’m not sure it is discernible.
Without morality perhaps the only perceived downside to theft, or any other crime, is getting caught.
If it’s ethical guidelines that are scarce, why not look to history?
Right
beside the Ten Commandments, put up a copy of Hammurabi’s Code. After
that, maybe we toss in some Aristotle. In short, let’s bring the basic
rules of all major religions and philosophies into the classroom. Some
of us may be surprised to see how similar the ethical precepts are.
In the name of “citizenship studies,” let’s put the history of ethics and laws in the classroom as a course of study.
I’m
sure it would be possible to design a streamlined course that would
offer second or third graders a basic overview of the subject matter. A
subsequent look at the same kind of material might be offered in high
school, with greater detail and more opportunity for discussion.
As
long as we don’t tell students in public schools to pray, or we seek to
raise one faith over the other, religion itself can’t be taboo. As we
all know, much of the history of art and literature can’t be told
without picking through religious relics.
Now, I’m proposing that the
actual tenets of the body of thought be examined as well as the
artifacts.
The approach
of the course would be to focus on the original purpose of particular
precepts, together with the way religious canon has become custom and
law through the ages.
If
the reader is concerned that we must include every faith or philosophy,
including such aberrations as devil worship, never fear. When we study
art history we don’t cover every artist, or art movement, in a survey
course.
Therefore only the religions and philosophies that have had the
most impact on the tides of history would need to be covered.
As
the 20th century winds down, this scribbler is not at all confident
that most children in the United States have much of a grasp of the
classic concepts of right and wrong — much less why. And let’s face it,
some kids draw a bad hand when it comes to parents.
Good
parents or not, for many children the buzz of popular culture is so
loud and prevalent that it overwhelms all other information.
Please
don’t confuse me with those aboard the “Hollywood is evil” bandwagon.
Nonetheless, I am comfortable saying that TV, pop music and the mass
media in general aren’t good either. While they aren’t intrinsically
good or evil, as they compete to make a buck they will jam pack a
child’s head with sights and sounds.
If
we expect all the busy parents in the real world to teach their
offspring to see the vital connection between their acts and the
inevitable consequences, we are indulging in wishful thinking.
Furthermore, if we expect children to pick up a clear sense of morality from popular culture, we are simply fools.
There
is no set of instructions as to how to go about injecting morality into
a secular society. In the past, like it or not, much of that sort of
thinking came from the dominant religion in a region seeping into every
fabric of the culture. So the parents were never expected to do the job
alone.
Can there be any
doubt that a society hoping to prosper has to find an effective way to
instill in its young citizens an awareness of, and hopefully a respect
for, its collective sense of right and wrong?
Finally, if it isn’t done in the schools, then where and when?
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