The Texas legislature has become the latest state to pass a bill mandating the posting of the Ten Commandments in public schools throughout the state. Similar bills have recently been signed into law in Louisiana and Arkansas.

Arizona legislators also passed a Ten Commandments mandate, but Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) vetoed the bill. In Utah, lawmakers passed a watered-down version that requires the text of the Ten Commandments to be taught during classroom instruction rather than posted on the walls.

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Texas’ Senate Bill 10 has been sent to the governor’s desk. If signed, it would require public schools to “display in a conspicuous place in each classroom of the school a durable poster or framed copy of the Ten Commandments.” The bill requires that the poster only contain the text of the Ten Commandments and that it must be at least 16 inches wide and 20 inches tall.

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Legal groups, including the ACLU, are challenging the law. Louisiana’s bill was challenged and halted in federal court last November.

Mandating the posting of the Ten Commandments or any other religious text in publicly supported schools or federal buildings is not only unconstitutional as defined by the First Amendment, but it is blatantly discriminatory toward those who do not adhere to the religion or denomination being given preference.   

Perhaps instead, schools could post a set of humanitarian “recommendations” in the classroom that consider some of the parameters for achieving a civil society through the formation of a social contract.

The theory of a “Social Contract” dates back as far as ancient Greece. Though iterated, reiterated, and reformed by numerous philosophers and public figures, the foundations of this social contract stand on the premise that people live together in community and abide by moral, ethical, and overarching political rules of behavior between individuals, groups, and their government in the formation of a civil society.

A violation by any of the signatories – individuals, groups, governments – jeopardizes the very stability of that progress toward a fully civil society.

Here are my recommendations to include in such a contract, onto which individuals may figuratively inscribe their names. I believe these recommendations are proactive without any mandates of what “thou shalt not” do.

1. Thou shalt treat the Earth and every living thing in an “ecocentric” manner, as a nonhierarchical mix of interdependent relationships, and as intrinsically valuable and important in the web of life. This starts with using only clean, renewable energy sources.

2.     Thou shalt create a fair economic system with an equitable distribution of wealth and income whereby each individual has guarantees of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, which includes ample sources of nourishment, shelter, clothing, access to quality education and health care throughout the individual’s entire life in ways that sustain a healthy planet and world community.

3.     Thou shalt acquire and maintain the ability to walk in the shoes of others by understanding varied perspectives and worldviews.

4.     Thou shalt have free and unlimited age-appropriate access to ideas and educational materials.

5. Thou shalt have the power to control and maintain one’s bodily autonomy, including, but not limited to, reproductive and gender-affirming freedoms.

6.     Thou shalt be treated by others based on the quality of your character alone.

7.     Thou shalt learn, teach, and practice effective conflict resolution and negotiation strategies for the easing of tensions between individuals and nations in advance of active hostilities.

8.     Thou shalt have access to career paths that match the your interests, abilities, and creativity, as well as having abundant leisure time, whereby individuals reside in a society in which technology serves to enhance all individuals while sustaining a healthy planet and world community.    

9.     The individuals within the representative government shall serve the best interests of We the People of every nation, and they will consider such service as a privilege and great honor by promising to guard against the acquisition of great wealth and inordinate power.

10.  Thou shalt have a proven track record of adhering to the previous 9 recommendations to qualify for elective office.

But these are just my ideas. We all deserve space to add recommendations to this collective social contract.

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