Debbie Riddle

The last time Texas state Rep. Debbie Riddle appeared on Foolocracy she was sponsoring a bill to make it a felony to hire an undocumented worker. There was an exception in that bill. If the undocumented worker was hired for domestic help, then it was not a felony. The bill’s supporters argued that too many Texans were unthinkingly hiring undocumented workers for domestic help. If it was a felony, then too many Texans would go to jail.

Riddle’s back with even a more outrageous suggestion. From her Facebook page, she posted this:

“Formal prayer has been taken out of our schools. How about this idea? Read from the book of Proverbs from the Bible. Proverbs is a book of wisdom. Proverbs is in the Holy Scriptures for Christians and Jews. As for other religions – the wisdom won’t do them any harm. This nation was built on Christian and Jewish values and the Bible was actually used in the classrooms in our early days. To toss the very foundation on which our country was built because of political correctness is wrong and we see the results in society today. I say have a reading out of Proverbs each day in our classrooms. What do you think?”

Never mind the constitutional stuff about the establishment of religion. Reading from the Bible should be a daily ritual in Texas schools. It won’t hurt the little Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, new agers and atheists. Heck, they might even learn something.

It is truly amazing the people who are elected in Texas. Officials, like Riddle, are the antithesis of the diverse society that the Founding Fathers sought to create. She is the one threatening to upend the “foundation on which our country was built.” It is a foundation upon which different beliefs and faiths are supposed to be equal. In Riddle’s mind, some are more equal than others, and the rest must put up with it.