Being
that I don't subscribe to any one religion in any kind of traditional
way,I guess it could be said that I'm somewhat of an atheist.
It's not that I don't believe in god. It's just that I don't believe
in him/her in the "biblical" sense.
That
being said though, I do like the concept of the Ten
Commandments. A simple, codified set of rules to suggest how we can all live together in peace and harmony. Whether you believe they are
the actual word of God or that Moses was just significantly pissed
with the behaviour of his people and went off into the
mountains to devise a way of dealing with them, they aren't a
bad set of guidelines for civilized co-existence.
The
problem is, I feel, that "the ten rules for
civilized behaviour" were etched in stone thousands of
years ago when - let's face it - the world was a different place. We
and our civilization have evolved since then, in some ways for the
good and in others, not so much. Events in the world today -
the horrendous way we are treating each other, including in the
so-called "Holy Land" itself, indicates that we have very
much strayed from our rules of civilized behaviour. So having a
universal set of guidelines for governing our co-existence is
still a good thing, but the ones we have might seem redundant because
of their archaic nature.
With
this in mind then, I have attempted to update our universal
guidelines to make them a little more relevant to our
modern world. They can be applied to EVERYONE, even atheists. So
readers can ponder them, share them, or disregard them as they see
fit. But remember, they aren't so much "commandments"
anymore because anti authoritarian types like myself hate
to be commanded to do ANYTHING. They are merely ten simple
guidelines for civilized co-existence.
***************
1) The
old: Do
not worship any other god than the one true God.
The
New: It's
all good!
You can worship any god you want, or no god at all. Just remember,
everyone is entitled to live their life their own way so long as they
don't harm anyone else because of it. And no one has the right to
inflict their way of life or system of beliefs on others, or to
stand in judgement of anyone else because of their
beliefs.
So live and let live and do
no harm.
-----
2) The
Old: Do
not make idols or images in the form of God.
The
New: Who
gives a fuck about Kim Kardashian! We
tend to idolize people in our world simply because they are famous
and pretty, be they pop singers, actors or athletes. Most of these
people contribute nothing whatsoever to our society except avoidance,
distraction and a devalued sense of self worth and are about as
deserving of our adoration as common garden slugs. Remember,
when you are trying to decide whether to buy food this week or
pay your rent, they are sipping champagne at an exclusive night club
somewhere. And YOU paid for their life style with your worship.
-----
3) The
Old: Do
not treat God's name lightly or with disrespect.
The
New: Respect
all
people's concept of God. It
just isn't cool to disrespect other people's concept of God or lack
thereof.
-----
4) The
Old: Dedicate
or set aside a regular day each week for sabbath rest and worship.
The
New: Work
to live, don't live to work. It's
great if you have a career that you love. Most of us don't. We have
jobs that pay the bills and put food on the table - period! For
many, we work more than one of these jobs. It's called survival. But
whether you have a satisfying career or simply a means of paying the
bills, take time to be grateful for whatever it is you have and to
smell the roses. Take time for your family and friends. Jobs
don't enrich our lives. People do.
-----
5) The
Old: Give
honor to your father and mother.
The
New: Acknowledge your
roots.
Your parents might have been nothing but drunken, abusive fucks. But
they gave you life, even if they didn't intend to. And life is the
greatest gift in the universe, even if it doesn't always seem like
it. So Even if your parents didn't do shit for you in any other way and you
can't stand them otherwise, be thankful that because of them,
you exist. And appreciate where you came from, be it a
country, a culture, a religion or just the old neighbourhood. It's
part of who you are. So never be ashamed of your roots or
where you come from. Embrace it. By doing so, you are better able to
love yourself.
-----
6) The
Old: Do
not deliberately kill a fellow human being.
The
New: Everyone
has a right to exist. Taking
another human life is a crime against nature and the universal order
of things. So murder is murder, whether it be a street crime, state
sanctioned execution or war. No one has the right to deprive
another person of their inalienable right to exist.
-----
7) The
Old: Do
not have sexual relations with anyone other than your spouse.
The
New: Responsible
sex. Originally,
people had sex strictly for the purpose of procreation. Which is
cool. But sex in itself is also a pretty cool thing. What ever the
reason for two people being intimate, the bonding of two consenting
humans is a beautiful thing. But it is something that
should not be taken lightly. Respect your partner. Treat them with
decency, courtesy and tenderness. Protect yourselves whether it's
from disease or unwanted pregnancy. And No
means No. Nobody
has the right to force themselves on another. Remember Do
No Harm. Also,
there are many different definitions as to who or what a spouse is
now. But if you've entered into a trust
relationship with someone
else, the quickest way to kill that trust
is to fuck around on them.
-----
8) The
Old: Do
not steal or take anything that doesn't belong to you.
The
New:
Jail
sucks! So
if you don't want to go to jail, don't take shit from people who
measure their own self worth by the amount of stuff they have. Anyone
who values their shit more than people, will see you in jail quicker
than you can blink your eyes. In some less than civilized places, they might also shoot you though this is clearly not in keeping with the spirit of Do No Harm.
-----
9) The
Old: Do
not tell a lie about someone or bring a false accusation against another.
The
New: Don't
talk shit! This
is definitely a lesson our politicians should learn. A lie is a
lie, but so is a half truth or a misrepresentation thereof. And
gossip
kills
so don't talk shit about someone behind their back. If you hear
someone else doing it, stay out of it, walk away. Just think about
what they might have to say about you behind your back.
Always remember, Karma
is a bitch so
do no harm.
-----
10) The
Old: Do
not desire anything or anyone that does not belong to you.
The
New: Never
place anybody or anything they might have above you or your own
personal happiness. The
measure of your own self worth has absolutely nothing to do
with anyone else. By being envious of someone else's possessions,
status or station in life, you are simply diminishing your own
personal value and creating spiritual inequality. Remember, no
one is any better than anyone else, no matter what they tell you or
how they act or what kind of car they drive. In fact, people who
collect a lot of expensive shit probably have a pretty poor sense of self worth so pity them.
***************
Please
bear in mind fellow space travellers, that these amended
guidelines are simply my own opinion. They've probably been
expressed by countless others in many different and vastly more
coherent ways. So take what you want from my humble offering, or take
nothing at all. But if there is one message I do sincerely hope that
readers embrace from the above regarding their coexistence with
others, it is this: Do no Harm!
