Thou Shall Not Kill

Thou Shall Not Kill

Christianity, Judaism, and Islam (see comment) all recognize the Ten Commandments.  And, high on the list is, "Thou Shall Not Kill."  Even if you aren't religious, and you look at those stone tablets as one of civilization's first attempt to establish a set of rules under which we might all peacefully live, surely its worth noting that "Thou Shall Not Kill" is prime rule to live by.

Meanwhile, "Thou Shall Not Attempt to Cross a Fence" doesn't seem to have made God's top ten list of things to forbid.  It was probably on his mind, as its not a bad rule for helping to keep the peace, but it didn't make his final top ten list.  Of course, for me growing up as a country boy, crossing fences while roaming the area was a pretty normal thing to do.  Glad there weren't snipers in East Tennessee shooting at anyone who got too close to a fence.

But, in terms of trying to create a set of rules by which to exist as a society, "Thou Shall Not Cross A Fence" didn't make the cut against such classics as "Thou Shall Not Steal", and "Thou Shall Not Fuck Thou Neighbor's Wife."

And, there's nothing in the list that says you get to break commandments just because someone else did.  And it especially doesn't say that the "Thou Shall Not Kill" commandment is waived in cases of someone breaking another commandment.  For example, there was no fine print on the stone tablets about how the "Thou Shall Not Kill" provision of Section 3, paragraph A, sub-section i, was null and void upon your neighbor violating the "Thall Shall Not Fuck Thy Neighbor's Wife" provision of Section 4, paragraph A, sub-section i.

Since the Ten Commandments don't seem to allow for the commencement of killing of other people for other serious offenses such as 'Coveting thy neighbor's donkey', then it seems doubtful that God wanted people opening fire with snipers and machine guns because they were violating a commandment that didn't even make God's Top Ten List such as "Thou Shall Not Cross A Fence."

At Least 23 Golan Protesters Killed, 350 Wounded as Israeli Troops Opens Fire

Israeli soldiers attacked protesters along the Syrian border with the occupied Golan Heights today, killing at least 23 protesters and wounding some 350 others. The protesters were marching to commemorate the 44th anniversary of the 1967 invasion of Golan.

Just to show what a strange and surreal place this world is, by and large, the same people who insist on posting the Ten Commandments in public spaces will also be applauding Israel's killing of 23 people. I'm starting to think that I'd agree on letting them post the Ten Commandments if they'd agree to actually read the things for a change.