1) Order your priorities so that you do not give your loyalty to something unworthy
Everyone has thier own definition of "unworthy".
2) Focus on substance, not appearance
This is just "philosopy", without real meaning.
4) Take at least one day each week for rest and reflection
This is meaningless, just an attempt to match up to the real commandments.
5) Be respectful to all persons in power over you, and be compassionate to those without power/influence
The very first words to come to my mind when I read this were "my ASS". I'll be respectful to those who EARN my respect, whether it is the Mayor or a cashier at Taco Bell.
And I'll be compassionite to those who need my compassion, which has nothing whatsoever to do wtih "power/influence".
7) Do not make physical pleasure your goal; pleasure should never be more than a pleasant side effect
Why, pray tell?? That is plain, flat out stupidity.That attitude is unadulterated Puritanism. There is no reason whatsoever that I should not eat spicy food because i have the goal of acheiving that endorphin rush that makes me feel SO good after the meal. NO reason, none, not any.
8) Do not accept anything of value that you didn’t earn
Why not? If I follow this I will not be able to accept gifts from loved ones, prizes in a raffle, basically anything that I have not paid for with the sweat of my brow. We're back to Puritanism.
9) Do not lie for selfish benefit (for you or anyone else)
Okay, so I CAN lie for unselfish benefit then? And just what would that be?
10) Do not seek to gain anything at someone else’s expense
Hmmm, if I win a foot race, it is at the expense of a competitor. Perhaps I shouldn't foot race. And of course, I can't make bets, or play board games (which are not only won at someone elses expense but are played for pleasure). I think this is bogus.
The Ten Commandments are a wee bit overanalyzed. Although we aren't building any societies directly from the 10 Secular Commandments. I'm with Gary for the most part. I wonder if a few small wording changes would make them strong enough to build a new, say, political party from.
Learn to feel with your heart as well as think with your mind.
Strive for balance.
Codes of life, i.e. philosophy, can not be picked apart with the mind alone. Although all philosophy should be logical, it is a logic of the mind and the heart and is specific to the reader. It's only true test is that it works for the one that is applying it. If it doesn't work for you, make your own...
Everyone that tells there children there is a Santa Claus, an Easter Bunny, Tooth-Fairy..etc is lying. This is what I would call a harmless lie. (I think the horrible lie is when we tell our kids that there is a God.)
Certainly an intelligent person would know that there are certain situations in which telling the truth would be WRONG. If you can't think of any, let me know and I will gladly explain them to you. But before you fire off a response, take some time and think. Thanks.
My mother said she was the last one in her first-grade class to learn that there was no Santa Claus, and was pretty embarrassed about it. She was something of an object of ridicule in that situation. She decided at that point that she could never trust anything else her parents told her without secondary confirmation. So much for "harmless."
Other than espionage, when lying to an enemy of the State is necessary to get critical information back to our decision-makers, I can't think of another legitimate reason, offhand. Please be kind enough to share a few of yours.
You hit the nail right on the head. Another reason a person would lie would be to provide comfort to a dying patient/accident victim etc. by telling them that everything is "going to be alright."
You hit the nail right on the head. Another reason a person would lie would be to provide comfort to a dying patient/accident victim etc. by telling them that everything is "going to be alright."
Well, this ain't the Ten Commandments, or even the Ten Secular Commandments. But years back I used to have posted on my refrigerator an intriguing little list called "Burnham's Laws," brainchild of James Burnham:
1. Everybody knows everything.
2. Who says A must say B.
3. Just as good, isn't.
4. You cannot invest in retrospect.
5. Wherever there is prohibition there's a bootlegger.
6. In every project there's a Schlamm.
vii. You can't divorce yourself.
viii. Every member must pay his dues.
ix. No, excuse, sir.
10. If there's no alternative, there's no problem.
Burnham was a senior editor at National Review, and I hate to admit I'm old enough that I remember reading him-- if I remember correctly, he was a Trotskyite-turned-conservative, and a secularist until his conversion very late in life to Catholicism. His book The Managerial Revolution (1941) is still worth a read.
1) Order your priorities so that you do not give your loyalty to something unworthy
Everyone has thier own definition of "unworthy".
2) Focus on substance, not appearance
This is just "philosopy", without real meaning.
4) Take at least one day each week for rest and reflection
This is meaningless, just an attempt to match up to the real commandments.
5) Be respectful to all persons in power over you, and be compassionate to those without power/influence
The very first words to come to my mind when I read this were "my ASS". I'll be respectful to those who EARN my respect, whether it is the Mayor or a cashier at Taco Bell.
And I'll be compassionite to those who need my compassion, which has nothing whatsoever to do wtih "power/influence".
7) Do not make physical pleasure your goal; pleasure should never be more than a pleasant side effect
Why, pray tell?? That is plain, flat out stupidity.That attitude is unadulterated Puritanism. There is no reason whatsoever that I should not eat spicy food because i have the goal of acheiving that endorphin rush that makes me feel SO good after the meal. NO reason, none, not any.
8) Do not accept anything of value that you didn’t earn
Why not? If I follow this I will not be able to accept gifts from loved ones, prizes in a raffle, basically anything that I have not paid for with the sweat of my brow. We're back to Puritanism.
9) Do not lie for selfish benefit (for you or anyone else)
Okay, so I CAN lie for unselfish benefit then? And just what would that be?
10) Do not seek to gain anything at someone else’s expense
Hmmm, if I win a foot race, it is at the expense of a competitor. Perhaps I shouldn't foot race. And of course, I can't make bets, or play board games (which are not only won at someone elses expense but are played for pleasure). I think this is bogus.
Rule #11: Don't overanalyze.
The Ten Commandments are a wee bit overanalyzed. Although we aren't building any societies directly from the 10 Secular Commandments. I'm with Gary for the most part. I wonder if a few small wording changes would make them strong enough to build a new, say, political party from.
Addendum:
Learn to feel with your heart as well as think with your mind.
Strive for balance.
Codes of life, i.e. philosophy, can not be picked apart with the mind alone. Although all philosophy should be logical, it is a logic of the mind and the heart and is specific to the reader. It's only true test is that it works for the one that is applying it. If it doesn't work for you, make your own...
6) Do not intentionally harm anyone
Unless, perhaps, they are terrorists intent on your destruction? Then can we hurt them a tiny bit?
8) Do not accept anything of value that you didn’t earn
You just lost the trust-fund Republicans and all but the wealthiest of self-made Democrats. But it's a beautiful ideal.
9) Do not lie for selfish benefit (for you or anyone else)
Or just at all, period, perhaps?
10) Do not seek to gain anything at someone else’s expense
As in: don't invent the car because you'll put buggy-whip manufacturers out of business? That probably won't work.
Well, it's a little less than half crap by weight. We'll have to wait 2,500 years and see if this version holds up as well as the original.
Everyone that tells there children there is a Santa Claus, an Easter Bunny, Tooth-Fairy..etc is lying. This is what I would call a harmless lie. (I think the horrible lie is when we tell our kids that there is a God.)
Certainly an intelligent person would know that there are certain situations in which telling the truth would be WRONG. If you can't think of any, let me know and I will gladly explain them to you. But before you fire off a response, take some time and think. Thanks.
Tim the Soldier
Tim:
My mother said she was the last one in her first-grade class to learn that there was no Santa Claus, and was pretty embarrassed about it. She was something of an object of ridicule in that situation. She decided at that point that she could never trust anything else her parents told her without secondary confirmation. So much for "harmless."
Other than espionage, when lying to an enemy of the State is necessary to get critical information back to our decision-makers, I can't think of another legitimate reason, offhand. Please be kind enough to share a few of yours.
Jonathan,
You hit the nail right on the head. Another reason a person would lie would be to provide comfort to a dying patient/accident victim etc. by telling them that everything is "going to be alright."
Tim the Soldier
Jonathan,
You hit the nail right on the head. Another reason a person would lie would be to provide comfort to a dying patient/accident victim etc. by telling them that everything is "going to be alright."
Tim the Soldier
Tim:
Having never had to comfort a dying person (or been the dying person comforted) I can't say whether it's right to lie in that situation.
Of course, if the dying person is a committed Christian, it probably really is "going to be alright." Except for the grieving family & friends.
Well, this ain't the Ten Commandments, or even the Ten Secular Commandments. But years back I used to have posted on my refrigerator an intriguing little list called "Burnham's Laws," brainchild of James Burnham:
1. Everybody knows everything.
2. Who says A must say B.
3. Just as good, isn't.
4. You cannot invest in retrospect.
5. Wherever there is prohibition there's a bootlegger.
6. In every project there's a Schlamm.
vii. You can't divorce yourself.
viii. Every member must pay his dues.
ix. No, excuse, sir.
10. If there's no alternative, there's no problem.
Burnham was a senior editor at National Review, and I hate to admit I'm old enough that I remember reading him-- if I remember correctly, he was a Trotskyite-turned-conservative, and a secularist until his conversion very late in life to Catholicism. His book The Managerial Revolution (1941) is still worth a read.
Agghhhh! Number nine should read:
ix. No excuse, sir.
Hee, hee thanks Paul!
When I was a kid my Great-Grand Pappy told me, "Son, anywhere you point, I got a still goin'." And he did too!