The Tenth Commandment

While growing up I liked everything about living in my neighborhood. While I knew there were people that had more money than I (we) did, it did not occur to me that I wanted to have what they had. In due course I learned the Ten Commandments while going to St. Gabriel's and it was more an exercise in memorization than life changing. There were many Commandments about which I just did not have a concern. The Seventh Commandment gave me pause when I took a toy out of Woolworth's. My Mother asked me where it came from and I told her. She told me to take it back, and I did.

I could recite all the Commandments and was only slightly amazed when I found out the Protestant list was slightly different than the Catholic. To my mind the difference was minuscule. One day I heard Hillary Clinton state to a crowd: "I want to take all those profits from the oil companies and redistribute them to those that are in need." Wow, she had designs on other people's money. How does that square up with the Tenth Ccommandment? This is coveting the goods of other people. Later, Obama had a similar view when he talked with Joe The Plumber. He said he wanted to spread the wealth around because it was good for everybody. There seems to be no concern with property rights, let alone personal moral concerns.

Socialists have always desired to spread the wealth, while the wealthy have sternly resisted. The religious see this for what it is, a violation of God's law. Socialist's make every effort to eliminate religion. The Soviet Union closed all the Churches, they did not want to contend with the conscience of the people. If there is no religion there are no Ten Commandments. The ruling class can then do as they pleased.

The effort for class warfare was advanced by Karl Marx who wanted the people to rise up against those that had more than they did. He was counting on a basic greed instinct in people and we see that effort to put people into different classes even today. The amazing thing is that so many are buying into this line of thinking. So many want something for nothing. One wag put it this way: "We are being split into two groups, those that work and those that do not. What in essence is: you work and I'll eat." And, many are falling into this line of reasoning. They want what the other person has.

This society has been successful in redistribution. We have the richest poor people on the planet, the fattest poor people, the best dressed poor people, the best housed with air conditioning and heat, the most poor with a car, television, phone, cell phone and electronic gadgets, free education, free mass transit, free lawyers, free psychological help, free condoms, free medicaid, free Head-Start and I believe this list can be improved by others.

In spite of all the above there is still much dissatisfaction, anger, angst, rage and lawlessness. Why is that? Why is there not a feeling of gratitude toward those that produce their lifestyles? I believe they are trapped in believing they should be against the other class, just as Karl Marx said. Our ruling class tells them that they are due more of what others have merely because they are human beings with dignity.

The answer may lie in something as simple as preaching the Tenth Commandment.