I remember a time not all that long ago when the battle over whether or not to allow the Ten Commandments to be displayed in government buildings was the culture war of the day.

But apparently our big cities like DC have now "progressed" as leftist utopias to the point where they have to invoke the Law of Moses to get people to stop slaughtering their fellow citizens.

Amid recent gun violence that the police chief has called "completely unacceptable," local community leaders are hoping an age-old commandment, printed on a red and white cardboard sign, will help stem the bloodshed.

"The poster is going to simply say "Thou shalt not kill," said Philip Pannell, executive director of the Anacostia Coordinating Council, a nonprofit organization based in Ward 8 in D.C.

You really can't make it up.

Everyone likes to note that the atheist Nietzsche said "God is dead." No one likes to note that in context, the dude was lamenting the fact that society had removed God, because without some kind of higher power to keep us accountable, there was nothing to bind together society.

From his book Twilight of the Idols:

When one gives up the Christian faith, one pulls the right to Christian morality out from under one's feet. This morality is by no means self-evident… Christianity is a system, a whole view of things thought out together. By breaking one main concept out of it, the faith in God, one breaks the whole.

Yup, one of the fathers of atheism said that.

Remember how all those people tricked you into thinking the (unconstitutional) idea of separation of church and state was a good idea, and that we should drive all mention of God from public life?

Yeah...

Pannell will join community activists and leaders mostly from east-of-the-Anacostia River neighborhoods in a launch event Tuesday at 11 a.m. at the Busboys and Poets restaurant at 2004 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. SE.

Pannell said he's hoping the signs espousing the sixth commandment will reinvigorate discussion about stopping gun violence.

"There is a percentage of the community that seems to have gotten numb to it — desensitized," said Pannell. "Let's be honest, most people do not attend community meetings about violence."

Pannell said this is not the first time the "Thou shalt not kill" message has been used in the District.

"Around 30 years ago, at the height of the crack epidemic, when we were also experiencing violence and homicides, then at-large Council member William Lightfoot printed-up some ‘Thou shalt not kill' posters and put them throughout the city," Pannell recalled.

Yes, the cities need more policing.

Yes, they need to prosecute criminals. Yes, there are many problems with the Democrat-run city.

But the #1 problem is, obviously, godlessness. That needs to be solved first.

(Hint: The government and NGOs can't solve this problem)

Shockingly, the city is helping to foot the bill for the posters:

Pannell said the D.C. mayor's office is providing 1,000 posters that are set to be delivered Monday, and Andy Shallal, owner of Busboys and Poets, is underwriting the costs of printing 2,000 posters.

After Tuesday's news conference, posters will be available to the public and can be picked up in the lobby of Busboys and Poets.

"The message ‘Thou shalt not kill' is just as powerful and just as relevant in 2023 as it was thousands of years ago," said Pannell.

I say go for it.

And while you're at it, I've got an idea for nine more posters you can print!