Football season is upon us, and I am fully aware of the intense rivalry between the crimson powerhouse of our state and our purple and gold friends in Baton Rouge. Thus, none of the statements put forth here change my allegiances – Roll Tide!
Disclaimer aside, my ties to the Pelican State have opened the window for me to experience their culture, economics and politics, and to reflect how they compare to our “Sweet Home Alabama.” Long story short, the girl I love calls Louisiana home, so spending a lot of my time visiting there while taking interest when her family discusses these topics has given me a fairly competent understanding of their native land.
Louisiana is comparable to Alabama in many ways, with only slight differences between the two. They have gumbo and crawfish; we have barbecue and catfish. They celebrate Mardi Gras in New Orleans; we do the same in Mobile, where it originated. They have one major SEC school; we have two. They hunt ducks and gators; we hunt turkeys and whitetail (though I concede more overlap in this category). They have a comedically-gifted Sen. John Kennedy firing one-liners on Fox and Friends; we have a lovable Gov. Kay Ivey firing bullets in her hilarious “no step too high for a high stepper” commercial.
That last political comment brings me to the topic I find most prevalent. Anyone reading this presumably knows that we are both “red states”; that is, we are reliable Republican strongholds. But there is again a slight distinction between the two.
Pew Research Center data shows that 41% of Louisiana voters are Republicans, 16% are independents, and 43% are Democrats. On the other hand, 52% of Alabamians are Republicans, 13% are independents, and 35% are Democrats. In summary, Alabama has both a larger share of Republicans and a smaller share of Democrats compared to Louisiana. Additionally, 69.5% of Louisiana’s State House of Representatives are Republicans, along with 71.7% of the State Senate. Alternatively, Alabama’s makeup is even more disproportionate at 73.3% and 77.1%, respectively. But when you observe the actual politics of both states, you might think the opposite were true.
For those not quite up to date with Louisiana politics, Republican Gov. Jeff Landry hit the ground sprinting in his first term, working with the Louisiana Legislature to roll out conservative bill after conservative bill. Some of Landry’s most notable legislative accomplishments are SB 313, essentially opening the floodgates in school choice, and HB 71, mandating that historical documents, including the 10 Commandments, be displayed in all public classrooms in the state. The school choice legislation gives Louisiana the opportunity to be a laboratory for a long-cherished conservative policy proposal, giving those on the right the ability to evaluate the success of education reform and learn from its potential successes and failures. Mandating the 10 Commandments’ display in public schools puts the state on the forefront of a constitutional “cold war,” which conservative legal minds are undoubtedly seeking to turn hot with a more favorable Supreme Court makeup.
Alabama has certainly had some conservative wins in recent memory, with SB 129 probably the most widely known for ridding state universities of DEI programs. However, very rarely do we see our state leadership aggressively pursue policies on the cutting edge of conservative thought.
Returning to Pew Research data, 86% of Alabamians declare themselves Christians, compared to a slightly lower 84% in Louisiana. So, why don’t we have a similar 10 Commandments law? We have the public support.
I’m not necessarily making policy proposals here, but pointing out a phenomenon that relates to Russell Galloway’s recent article on this platform, “Man cannot live on biscuits alone.” When was the last time you heard a prayer prior to kickoff at Bryant-Denny? My first trip to Death Valley, home of the LSU Tigers, I discovered firsthand that a prayer is read over the loudspeakers before the game starts. Again, why don’t we do that here?
Visiting Louisiana, two things struck me: I found that they focus a lot of their attention on local, seemingly unimportant politics, while their Christ-following community is far bolder and more consistently devoted than my experience in Alabama, generally speaking. But we have a greater proportion of Christians, right? How can we explain this paradox?
This is a question that Galloway raised in his article: Is Alabama living up to our reputation as the “buckle of the Bible Belt?” While he suggested that a distraction with politics may be a reason we fall short of that, I contend we have become lousy with both.
If legislators thought their constituents wanted something like a 10 Commandments bill, they would do it. But we focus more on the latest political fight of the day than on what our direct, local representatives are doing in our state.
Faith is the most important thing in a person’s life. Apparently, 86% of Alabamians agree. If we took our personal faith more seriously, gathering with fellow believers, studying the Bible, and discussing it publicly, the effects of that would undoubtedly impact those who answer to us: politicians. Louisiana gets this right, it would be prudent to follow that example.
