Commandments

The Ten Commandments, considered the foundation of civilization in the Jewish-Christian-Muslim world by the religious, are actually a menu of social control by those who hold authority, wealth and property. They have worked as a simplistic indoctrination tool for millennia. The most rational and scientific non-believers still get drawn into windy debates over this obvious script for mass-manipulation. A study of human history makes it quite clear what these monumental directives of 'morality' have actually brought to the human experience: Not much.

1. Don't worship any god but our god.

Of course, this simply means don't try to have any free thought. Don't try to devise your own ethical framework, in line with your circumstances and experiences. Don't trust your natural instincts and learned behaviors. Listen to the authorities. They know what is best for you. If you don't think so, you're obviously crazy, immoral or stupid.

2. Don't blaspheme.

Don't challenge authority. Don't protest. Don't criticize. Don't be skeptical. Shut up and do what you're told.

3. Rest one day in seven.

Keep in good shape so your bosses can exploit your strength to their ends. Attend a religious service, so your indoctrination can be continued under the peer pressure of conformity and ritual. Too much rest is bad for you. It breeds mental health, creativity and individuality.

4. Honor your parents.

No matter how abusive or exploitative your parents are, shut up and slave for them as long as they are alive. Your job is to bear the burden of your birth and keep your family's needs under control so that they do not cause the community any costs. Keep family secrets. Do not question dysfunction. Pass it on to another generation without question. Then you can boss your children around.

5. Don't kill people.

That is, only kill the people authority figures tell you to kill to maintain their power and wealth. Independently killing someone in authority who has abused you is murder worthy of being killed in return in the most horrible public fashion. If you are a parent, you can abuse your kids privately all you want. Just don't kill them. See Number 4 above.

6. Don't have sex outside of marriage.

If you're female and not virginal, your marketability is discounted as part of a property merger with another family. This is understandably punishable by death in some cultures. If you are a married woman, you are the property of your husband and have no identity or free will. If you're a man, you can sleep around all you want, even if you have a communicable disease. Don't worry about it. This one is just for controlling women.

7. Don't steal.

No matter how poor you are, don't you dare take anything that you haven't paid for. Work like a slave at a menial job to earn a pittance with which you can barely survive. That's your lot in life. Accept it. If you are rich, don't worry about this one. Steal as much as you want. That's what lawyers are for.

8. Don't lie.

If you get caught doing something against authority, you must confess immediately and not try to escape. If you are a politician, a wealthy tax-evader or a free-marketer, you don't have to pay attention to this one. That's what lawyers are for.

9. Don't lust after your neighbor's wife.

If you are too stupid to get the message in Number 6, you probably won't get this one either. Your neighbor's wife is his property. Get it? If you are a man, you don't really have to worry about this one much, unless you are stupid enough to get caught. Even then, that's what lawyers are for.

10. Don't covet your neighbor's property.

This is a big one for everybody  Unfortunately, coveting your neighbor's property has been the basis of every civilization's economy in human memory. So, if you choose to follow this one, you'll never be rich. You'll be the good guy who sweeps the streets or collects the trash. If you are rich, brokers and lawyers can help you to simply take your neighbor's property, so that you no longer have to be breaking this one.