Columns & Opinions

After a day of horror, a call for civility

FALLING FAR FROM THE TREE

When the idea came upon me to write on the following topic, my serious side was highjacked by the memory of a comedy sketch I saw long ago. I do hope this column’s faithful readers also share an abandoned sense of humor. The sketch is excerpted from the 1981 film History of the World, Part 1, by Mel Brooks. The scene: Moses is slowly walking down from the summit of Mount Sinai carrying three large, stone tablets. He solemnly addresses the children of Israel gathered at the base of the mountain: “I bring you these fiftee…,” and before he finishes the sentence, one of the tablets falls and shatters on the mountainside. Then Moses awkwardly continues, “…these Ten Commandments!”