Voting for values in November

By Pat Priest

I studied martial arts for years here in Athens, taking it up when I was almost 40.  (I bet I can still do a pretty decent spinning hook kick!) I loved the camaraderie and had wonderful instructors: Jim Couch, Chang-Bae Yi, and Jason Hughes, all men of integrity and skill. They helped each student advance, looking out for everyone and fostering collegiality.

I still remember the principles we recited at the beginning of class: courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control, and indomitable spirit.

My mind drifted back to that litany of values when I learned about Louisiana’s new law that mandates the posting of the Ten Commandments in every public school classroom in the state, kindergarten through college.

Come on, people! If you’re Christian, you know a key precept of Christianity: "Do unto others (as you’d have them do unto you).” The Ten Commandments are inappropriate as the sole guide to upright behavior in our country’s public sphere because we are a nation of many faiths, and some people have no belief in any god. The Pilgrims, for example, came here to seek refuge from religious persecution, and the Founders, well aware of the dangers of theocracy, made separation of church and state a core principle of our Constitution. 

And why oh why do kids need to be admonished not to commit adultery? 

On Facebook my friend J.R. Green proposed posting the Scout’s oath instead, a promise to be “trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent.” Or, he added, we should just tell kids not to be bullies.

Ed Vaughan suggested the core values of the U.S. Army, which are “loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal courage.” Other people brought up the 4-H pledge, which reads: "I pledge my head to clearer thinking, my heart to greater loyalty, my hands to larger service, and my health to better living for my club, my community, my country, and my world.”

What’s perverse is that the Republican Party that mandated the posting of the Ten Commandments in Louisiana pledges their allegiance to a presidential candidate who does not embody a single one of the core values we want kids to learn. 

For our country’s leaders I want someone with unimpeachable values like my husband or dad. President Biden fits that bill, while Trump is a serial adulterer and liar who bullies and belittles. We sure don’t want kids to follow that leader.