As school kids learn in civics class, our government is made up of three separate branches. The church isn’t one of them — unless you live in Oklahoma.
There, a fanatical Christian Nationalist named Ryan Walters is the appointed superintendent of schools. But Walters is confused on the concept of “instruction,” viewing it not as teaching but as a commandment to implement his own personal theology.
In June, he pompously instructed all public schools to put the Christian Bible in every classroom and to use them for teaching every subject. He’s also demanding millions of dollars from taxpayers to buy Bibles.
But not just any Bible. That’s where Walters went from kooky to corrupt, issuing bid requirements that effectively narrowed the state’s purchase to one particular edition of Christianity’s Holy Word: the “God Bless the USA Bible.”
It’s a MAGA-approved compilation promoting the dogma that America is meant to be governed by Christians. Marketed by right-wing country musician Lee Greenwood, the volume is being hawked in commercials by Donald Trump, who is avidly supported by Walters.
Oh, coincidentally, it turns out that Trump gets a cut of every one of Greenwood’s sales. So, a chunk of Oklahoma’s big Bible purchase would be personally pocketed by Trump, enriching the former president with manna from above.
The stench of this scam was even too much for Oklahoma’s aggressively partisan GOP leaders, who’ve now rewritten Walters’ purchase order to eliminate the Trump bid-rigging bias. Still, regular citizens are asking why their state is trying to indoctrinate school kids, putting one version of religion above all others.
To follow this Bible Story, connect with the nonprofit news group Oklahoma Watch at OklahomaWatch.org.
OtherWords columnist Jim Hightower is a radio commentator, writer, and public speaker. This op-ed was distributed by OtherWords.org.
