[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 27 (Wednesday, March 5, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E389-E390]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    ALABAMA AND THE TEN COMMANDMENTS

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                   HON. CHARLES W. ``CHIP'' PICKERING

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, March 4, 1997

  Mr. PICKERING. Mr. Speaker, religious freedom is once again under 
attack in our country. In my neighboring State of Alabama, the recent 
controversy over the Ten Commandments highlights the contempt that some 
people in our country have for religious freedom.
  Alabama Circuit Court Judge Ray Moore opens each session of his 
courtroom with a prayer. The Ten Commandments hang on the walls of his 
court. Once again, the ACLU is saying that it is a terrible thing for 
the basis of our laws to be displayed in a court of law. I am proud to 
join with so many of my colleagues and Alabama's Governor Fob James in 
supporting Judge Moore's right to display the Ten Commandments.
  The Ten Commandments are a symbol of our past and a hope for our 
future. They are the foundational elements of our history, heritage, 
and laws. Tradition is said to be ``nothing but the acknowledgment of 
the authority of symbols and the relevance of the narratives that gave 
birth to them.'' We have many such symbols and traditions in this 
Nation. We have biblical symbols in the Supreme Court, ``In God We 
Trust'' is inscribed here in the Chamber of the House and on every 
piece of U.S. currency and in addition each day of Congress opens with 
a prayer. Clearly, our country was founded upon religious principles. 
Unfortunately, some believe freedom of religion means freedom from 
religion.
  On September 17, 1796, George Washington gave his farewell address 
saying, ``Of all

[[Page E390]]

the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, 
religion and morality are indispensable supports. * * * Whatever may be 
conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar 
structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national 
morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.''
  Those who want to take down the Ten Commandments and banish from our 
history the principles that guided our founders are the same ones that 
move our country away from moral absolutes to a value system of no 
right and no wrong. The values embodied by the Ten Commandments lead to 
political prosperity, civic responsibility, and renewed culture. Their 
absence, unfortunately, leads to chaos, destruction, and the loss of 
moral constraints. If the ACLU is successful in tearing down the Ten 
Commandments from our society what will they choose to replace them for 
a basis for law? What will the ACLU choose for us as a moral compass? 
Who gives them the right to change the founding principles of our 
country? Those are the questions that need to be asked. While some will 
side with the ACLU, I will side with the Founding Fathers of our 
country.
  We are reaping the consequences today of an anything goes society. 
Our culture is permeated with crime, drugs, violence, and family 
breakdown. Those who want to take down the Ten Commandments from the 
Alabama courtroom cannot be allowed to do so. For 30 years, there has 
been a deliberate march and assault on our traditional values. This is 
where we should draw the line.

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