From the earliest times, religion has been one of the primary vehicles for satire, along with politics and sex.
However, the use of religious themes to make a political point can be controversial.
And, no, religious satire or religious cartoons should not be used to attack religion or to ridicule religious beliefs or figures.
The Ten Commandments have often been used in political satire or parody, not to mock that sacred scripture, but rather to point out the failings, foibles and hypocrisy of those who profess to live by them.
Last October, after the horrific murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, prominent evangelical leader Pat Robertson praised the cowardly approach Trump took, saying that the United States should not risk $100 billion worth of arms sales to Saudi Arabia over the journalist’s murder.
Robertson told his followers:
You’ve got a $100-billion worth of arm sales which is, you know, that’s one of those things…I know it’s bad, but I mean we’ve had all kinds of stuff, but you don’t blow up an international alliance over one person. I mean, I’m sorry.
In his “Late Show,” Stephen Colbert mocked Robertson’s hypocrisy by recalling the Fifth Commandment.
Holding up the Ten Commandments Tablets “Moses” says, “I want to draw your attention to Number Five, ‘Thou shall not kill.’ You notice there is an asterisk, that’s because ‘Thou shall not kill’ — unless there is a lot of coinage on the tables…”
View the full segment below.
Apparently unaware of that Commandment, the man who many evangelicals claim was “chosen by God” to be president, seemed to arrogantly put himself above the law of the land and above God’s law by asserting that he could “stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody” and not “lose any voters.”
Trump’s interpretation of the Ten Commandments and of other religious subjects has often been the subject of satirists and cartoonists. For example, see here, here and here.
Below is a great cartoon by Phil Hands, Wisconsin State Journal.
Last week, we saw the Attorney General redact significant portions of the Mueller Report, albeit “[D]ozens of overlooked nuggets are [still] buried deep inside the special counsel’s 448-page report…”
It would not surprise anyone if Trump soon joins the redaction craze via tweet, arm-waving semaphore or re(d)actionary smoke signals spewing out of his ears.
Given Trump’s ferocious appetite for demanding loyalty, adulation and blind obedience of his orders, including illegal ones, the following could be a fair representation of this MAGA-hats-and-Bible-signing, “two Corinthians,” self-worshiping, (self-)anointed one’s redaction of the Ten Commandments, including a short “supplement.”
An unredacted version of the Ten Commandments as viewed by Trump and his supporters can be read here.
CODA: To those who may be offended by the religious references, I offer my sincere apologies. There is no such intent.
Lead image: Stained glass windows from the old building at the Tri City Jewish Center in Rock Island, Illinois. Photo by Dustin Oliver at flickr.com
