South Dakota Lawmakers Dump Bill That Would Have Forced Schools To Post The Ten Commandments

Well, this didn't last long. For a state as staunchly conservative as South Dakota, this is somewhat of a surprise. But less than a week after a bill mandating the posting of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms was forwarded to a vote by the House committee, the South Dakota House rejected this odious offering from freshman state senator John Carley.

It was yet another one in a wave of obviously religion-based bills that have been introduced around the nation because four years of Trump made it clear nothing matters but the optics when it comes to governing. Do any stupid shit you want, as long as it earns the applause of voters who believe the government's real job is to force people they don't like to do things they don't want to do.

The real winner here - beyond our constitutional rights - is Morgan Matzen of the Sioux Falls Argus Leader, whose article on the rejection leads off with this headline:

South Dakota House decides it shall kill Ten Commandments bill

Aces. That's magnificent, especially since it was delivered by a paper that often seems to grant way too much deference to local politicians, no matter the level of asshattery.

But there's so much more to this article than that wonderful headline. Plenty of comments from the losers of the vote are contained in Matzen's reporting. And they have to be read to be believed. Unhinge your jaws a bit in preparation for dropping.

Let's get to it.

Rep. Logan Manhart, R-Aberdeen, said the bill incentivizes more morality" to students in school and said the Ten Commandments are good moral teachings students should get." He said it was abnormal" that the Ten Commandments aren't being taught statewide.

Logan, the word you're looking for is constitutional." It's constitutional that the Ten Commandments aren't being taught statewide. If private religious schools that don't receive government funding want to do this, it's fine. But publicly-funded schools aren't allowed to do this. There's nothing weird about this. It's the way it's been for decades.

But that's nothing compared to this comment from another state legislator:

Rep. Tim Goodwin, R-Rapid City, said he woke up Monday morning after praying about SB 51 with a calmness" about him, and a voice saying to me, if one person comes to Christ because the Ten Commandments are posted, (then) vote yes."

Good god, man. (And, of course, I am not referencing any specific god here.) Schools are there to educate, not proselytize. Speaking of which, legislators are there to govern, not proselytize. Hoping that a bill might bring" one person to your preferred deity isn't something state reps should be advocating for, privately or publicly. Leave that to the churches, synagogues, mosques, FSM meetings, or whoever else is actually in the business of converting people to their own personal Jesus (or his nearest non-Christian competitor). Get that out of the legislature and save your religious preferences for your off-duty hours.

Then there's Rep. Keri Weems (R-Sioux Falls), who said things about having a faith walk" and believing in her heart of white Christianity that the Ten Commandments isn't a historic document." It's apparently more than that," whatever the hell that means.

The antidote to all of that is this remark from another state rep:

Rep. Brian Mulder, R-Sioux Falls, who is a licensed pastor, said he felt that debating the Ten Commandments sidelines the mission of the church, and said the Legislature can't ask people who don't believe in Christ to act out the Ten Commandments." He said he also prayed over SB 51 and got a different answer" than Rep. Goodwin did.

There's someone who realizes he can still uphold his personal ideals and respect his personal faith without forcing it on everyone else. Too bad, he's in the minority here, at least when it comes to post-vote statements. But he's in the majority that voted down this bill and that's where it stands for now. Given that the vote was close, I'm pretty sure this isn't the last time someone will try to implement this mandate. For now, though, these small-town theocrats will just have to lick their wounds, bide their time, and probably (sigh) offer to pray for the soul of the state or whatever.