Updating the Ten Commandments

THE REVERENCE AND ESTEEM with which the Ten Commandments are regarded can seem overblown, innapropriate. They can seem outdated, suited to the ancient intellect, but not the modern. Fundamentally profound though they apparently seemed to their ancient instigators, and still seem today to millions, in our modern world they can seem simplistic, hacknneyed, of little or no use. The first four become the frantic rantings a petty jealous tyrant, the last six nothing more than common sense. Somebody suggested a new set,a set which is arguably much more suited to our century. They are: 1) Be open minded, willing to alter beliefs with new evidence. 2) Strive to believe that which is most likely to be true, not what you want to believe. 3) The scientific method is the most reliable means for understanding the natural world.4) Every person has the right to control his or her own body. 5) Belief in God is not necessary to be a good person or to live a meaningful life. 6) Be always mindful of the consequences of your actions and recognize that you msut take responsibility for them. 7) Treat others as you want them to treat you, and as you can reasonably expect them to want to be treated.8) We have the responsibilty to consider others, including future generations. 9)There is no one right way to live. 10) Leave the world a better place than you found it... It is not certain who wrote these revised admonitions. There seems to have been no single, dramatic event accompanying their announcement to the world, like Moses descending Mt. Sanai clutching two stone tables, their having been engraved with fire by the Lord,turning their bearer's hair bright white. There does not seem to be any single individual claiming credit for having written them, or if so, there are many such people, and the true author has gotten lost amid an avalanche of false claimants. For all we know they were first typed into a computer by a bored but precocious teenager living in his parent's basement. They are not, ss far as can be discerned, copyrighted, and even if they were, the question of their actual authorship would still probably be in doubt. They are good enough that whoever wrote them should have probably made hundreds of copies of them, and distributed them widely in a sudden rush of activity, handing out copies to people, newspapers,internet sites, among other recipients, in a well planned rush of presentations, the new commandments signed, witnessed, notarized, their quthor shaking hands, autographing copies, and swearing as to his or her authorship. Apparently, this never happened. Well, and so be it. The author in anonymity will have to be content with the knowledge that he or she has achieved something important, has made a meaningful contribution to modern culture, if only as a suggestion. Doubtless these new and improved Ten Commandments will never gain the universal respect and reverence accorded to the old, hachneyed ones. By nature we are adverse to supplanting long cherished institutions with improved ones. Our loss. But this brings to mind a relevant true fact often neglected in our propritary, status oriented society; Ultimately it matters not who gives the world a great gife, a gift like a masterpiece of art, a scientific discovery of great importance, an intellectual achievement of great value newly available to the appreciative world. What matters is the gift itself, and our fortunate reception of it. Sure, credit must if at all possible be given to the person responsible for giving something of great value to the world. Human knowledge must be organized, not confused fought over, and chaotic. But when we do not know we do know know, and as is all too often the case, we are left to adore the fruit with gratitude of an unknown anonymous creator. Such is the case, argubaly, with the entire universe. This being the case, how can we complain if we remain ignorant of the precise author of a new and vastly improved list of supposedly sacred instructions which, upon cursory reflection, become and forever remain nothing more than a few words of very good advice.