The Ten Commandments have long been revered as a foundation for morality. But do they really apply to a diverse, modern society? I would argue that they do not.
The first 3
Commandments purely cater to God's enormous ego. These,
of course, do not
apply to the over 30 million U.S. citizens who are atheists, agnostics,
Buddhists, Hindus, pantheists, and deists. Shall we post laws irrelevant
to over 10% of our population?
Number 4 declares
everyone who works on Sunday (or Saturday, depending on your faith) a
spiritual outlaw. Catholic priests, pro football players and Ed Sullivan
will all burn in hell for this one.
Commandment #5
presumes one's parents are sane or worthy of respect. Unfortunately,
horrible people sometimes have kids.
Most societies
(Judeo-Christian or not) seem to understand Commandments 6-8. Indeed, some
ape communities also operate under these guidelines -- probably without
having read the bible.
Telling the truth (#9)
is also generally a good idea, but there are lots of exceptions we all
employ. By the way, that's a great haircut...
And a little #10 oils
the gears of a good chunk of the U. S. Economy.
So here are some
alternatives to the rusty old Commandments. I submit this work in progress
-- not as dogma I insist you obey -- but as suggestions I hope you'll
consider.
James Underdown
11 Strong Suggestions
by James Underdown
1. Leave a place as good
or better than when you got there.
2. Be nice.
3. Suck it up and quit bitching.
4. Live within your means
5. Take responsibility for what you do
6. Stop watching so much TV and live a little
7. Try to see the other person’s point of view
8. Don’t believe everything you hear.
9. Keep your brain and body active
10. Say KMA when the time is right
11. Take a moment every day to be grateful
