I had never heard of Chicago suburb Fox Lake police officer Joe Gliniewicz. Recently, three men murdered him. Sadly I now know about what a great man, and police officer he was.
Could this be a good time to reinstate the Sixth Commandment? You might know it better as "Thou Shalt Not Kill," or "Thou Shalt Not Murder," "You Should Not Kill."
The Sixth Commandment appears in a series of commandments remembered by some today as the Ten Commandments. These commandments can be found in the Old Testament of the Bible. Donald Trump was recently asked if he liked the Old Testament or New Testament the best and he replied that he liked it all affirming the Bible as his favorite book. I doubt if the majority of Americans can tell you for sure about where to find the Ten Commandments. Some would simply affirm them as being important while others would not.
Not every American may know that the Ten Commandments come from the Old Testament of the Bible. Honestly, most Americans may not care. I am old enough to remember when the Ten Commandments were a big deal everywhere. We had them in some of our classrooms where I grew up. I used to see them posted in state and federal buildings. Actually, I was speaking in a small Nevada town two years ago and the Ten Commandments were posted in front of the courthouse. I would tell you the name but I don't want someone fussing and fuming at those good people for keeping the Ten Commandments up front and public. Actually there are still several state and county buildings where you can find the Ten Commandments posted or engraved even in granite.
The Ten Commandments has never kept this nation from doing anything wrong. People went right on killing; stealing, disrespecting their parents and doing all sorts of stuff that the Ten Commandments forbid us from doing.
I totally understand separation of church and state. I don't want to see something from the Koran on my local court or state house. However, I think this would be a good time to bring back the Sixth Commandment. We don't even have to refer to it as the Sixth Commandment. Let's just simply start reposting in our elementary, junior high and senior high schools these three words, "Do Not Kill," or simply, "Do Not Murder."
The minds of little children are very impressionable and teachable. My father put the fear of God into me when it came to smoking. From the time I was a young child he successfully made me afraid of smoking or drinking alcohol. This kind of teaching and impressing is harder when children become teenagers. Teenagers start becoming smarter than their parents so they think.
I realize hanging "Do Not Kill" on every wall and home in America will not eliminate the murder of black people, white people, Hispanics or police officers. However, how could it hurt?
This column does not necessarily reflect the view of this paper.