Hey, Gov. Abbott: How about obeying all of those Ten Commandments? | Opinion

A transgression

Thank you, Gov. Greg Abbott, for putting the Ten Commandments back in our schools. (Aug. 22, 1A, “Judge blocks Ten Commandments posters in some schools”) As a retired public high school teacher in Texas, I have been shocked by the moral decay in our classrooms.

It used to be considered outrageous when students were tardy to class for sneaking puffs on cigarettes in the restroom. Now, students fear for their lives, not knowing when a shooter might show up. The Sixth Commandment, after all, is “Thou shalt not kill.”

- Sylvia Underwood, Fort Worth

American ideals

One would think that a man who was the longest-serving attorney general in Texas history, a justice on the Supreme Court of Texas and a district judge in Harris County knows how to read. I’m sure tov. Greg Abbott has read the U.S. Constitution, which he took an oath to defend. That includes the First Amendment, rejecting “an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”

Our country was founded on the freedom of religion and the separation of church and state. A reasonable person would question the new law to post the Ten Commandments in every public school classroom in Texas. Abbott and the Legislature have no right to subject any student to any religious teachings.

If I had children in a public school promoting a certain religion, I would demand the commandments be removed.

- Linda Carlow, Alvarado

Loved liberty

The tragic loss of Charlie Kirk reminds us that America needs more communication, not less. Kirk spent his life on the frontlines of college campuses, speaking with young people who often disagreed with him. Whether you liked him or not, he believed conversation — not violence or cancellation — was the path to persuasion.

I once heard Charlie say, “Young people are idealists, and they respond to vision.” There is no greater vision than the one he cast with his life. As Jesus said in John 15:13: “There is no greater love than this: that a person will lay down their life for their friends.” Charlie’s life showed how deeply he loved liberty, young people and America.

They tried to silence him, but his mission will only multiply. A hundred new voices will now rise on campuses to carry forward his cause.

- Nate Sheets, McKinney

Decorum needed

I heard the JPS Health Network executives’ recent presentation to the Tarrant County Commissioners Court. It was informative and full of facts and figures. Then, County Judge Tim O’Hare took his turn. He needs to reread his rules of decorum, which prohibit personal or impertinent attacks. Because he wants to reduce the tax rate for the hospital district, he took exception to an item showing JPS made a small profit that goes back into the hospital’s work. He rudely indicated that the executives didn’t know how to budget.

The only person who didn’t seem shocked by O’Hare’s behavior was his frequent rival, Commissioner Alisa Simmons. Does anyone wonder why?

- Suzanne Mabe, Fort Worth