Police Station's Ten Commandments Monument Challenged

Should a police station, created to serve an entire community, have displays which are designed to promote the religious beliefs of only some members of that community? Such an idea seems absurd on the face of it - after all, the police have no authority to take sides in religious disputes. Nevertheless, there are people who think that the police should do just that.

M.L. Lyke writes in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer about a Ten Commandments display in Everett, Washington and interviews Jesse Card, the agnostic who is challenging the display in court:

It boggles my mind that someone could read the first words, "I AM the LORD thy God," and say that it couldn't be interpreted as being religious. The monument most represents an icon of the Judeo-Christian belief systems. Or at the very least, a monotheistic belief system. By placing it on public property, I think it gives the impression (even if not the city's intent) of supporting those particular beliefs. I don't believe it's the government's business to tell people what they should or shouldn't believe.

Yes, Jesse, it is mind-boggling. How can people arrive at such a ridiculous conclusion? I think that it stems in part from someone living with it all their lives, never questioning it, and never considering the perspective of those who disagree with it. After a certain point, the beliefs seem "obvious" and "uncontroversial" when, in fact, they are very controversial. But some just don't acknowledge that - and because of this, they fail to see how or why it is a problem.

Read More:

• Separation of Church and State 101
• Ten Commandments