A New, Non-Religious, Ten Commandments for Kids

Texas is on the verge of being the third state to mandate that the Ten Commandments be posted in every classroom, following the lead of Alabama and Louisiana. The laws in the first two states are currently on hold, placed by a federal judge who said the statute is "unconstitutional on its face.” Whether the Texas law holds up in court is unclear, but given the new world we’re living in, it’s also not clear that Governor Abbott would even live by the court ruling.

When the Louisiana law passed, I wrote what a non-religious Ten Commandments, written for the day and age we live in, could look like. This version is updated and given both the collapse of the rule of law in the 10 months since then and the endlessly rising levels of anger, hatred, despair and extremism, it feels more important than ever to consider an alternative view.

So here’s what I would post for the kids instead:

(1). You only feel happy when you feel good about yourself. You never truly feel good about yourself when you make others feel bad. So be nice. It’s better for you.

(2). You get to define life by your own terms, but anything you’d probably consider worthwhile requires a lot of hard work. No one gets rich quick and even those who do don’t stay there for long.

(3). Social media is fake. The people pretending to be perfect tend to be the unhappiest. Everyone’s lives go up and down. Constantly. It doesn’t matter how rich or beautiful or famous you are.

(4). You don’t need a lot of friends. You just need a few you can count on and who can count on you.

(5). You are what you eat. Loading your body up with sugar, drugs, nicotine, alcohol, THC, caffeine, etc… ultimately makes you feel worse, not better.

(6). School and childhood is just a small part of your overall life. Even if it sucks now, it will get better (you don’t want to peak in high school; those people are losers).

(7). The things you do that help others end up being the things that make you happy too. It seems illogical but it’s how human emotions work. The stuff that only benefits you never feels good for long.

(8). Everybody is making it up as they go along. And most of the things you worry about will turn out not to be a big deal. All you can do is try your best and try to be the best person you can be.

(9). Ask questions. Be curious. Life is more interesting that way.

(10). Let people be who they are. It’s fine if they’re different from you and it’s good that you’re different from everyone else. Life would be boring otherwise.