Mom's Ten CommandmentsBy Sally Morem

Religious believers are trying to have copies of the Ten Commandments displayed in public facilities.  Why?  These Biblical commands to the faithful aren’t particularly inspiring examples of compelling moral instruction…or of good writing.

Take “Do not kill,” for example.  In English, the verb “kill” means to put any organism to death.  Such a broad moral command would be wholly impractical for human life (if anyone actually bothered to obey it).  In effect, this commandment is ordering us to starve to death.  We are animals.  We don’t do photosynthesis.  We must kill or have proxies kill in order for us to live.  Changing the word to “murder” would quickly clear up any confusion.  However, religious dogma seems to disdain any such tampering with Holy Writ.

Or, “You shall have no other gods before me.”  This commandment presumably records a decree from a tribal god to a specific ancient desert tribe, ordering members to disdain worship of other, presumably equally real, tribal gods.  Not exactly the message a monotheistic religion would intent to deliver to its present-day believers.

Religious commandments and dogma can’t possibly instill and enforce moral thinking in stubborn and willful human beings anyway.  Commandments and dogma are too abstract and too legalistic to fulfill these sociological roles. All they can do is codify existing moral sentiments and religious beliefs.

So, where does morality come from?  We are primed for moral thought and action by deeply encoded emotional responses (such as anger, shame, gratification, pride, and joy) to acutely important events in our lives.  These emotions are programmed into the limbic system by our interactions early in life with a truly powerful, universal, primal being: Mom.  You don’t believe me?   Check out Mom’s Ten Commandments:

1. Hello love!  Give me a hug! 2. Don’t throw that ball in here!  Go outside! 3. Clean up your room! 4. Don’t touch! 5. That isn’t yours!  Put it back! 6. Don’t talk with your mouth full! 7. Quit hitting your brother! 8. Share with your sister! 9. Remember the magic words!  Say, ‘Please and thank you!’ 10. Bedtime!  Give me a kiss!

Mom’s simple words and gestures eventually fashion and uphold every cultural imperative and moral sentiment that ever existed or will exist.

Where does Mom get morality?  From Grandma.  How about Grandma?  From Great Grandma…and so on.

Systems of morality recorded and encoded the emotional responses to innumerable dangers and opportunities presented to our ancestors by human action for hundreds of thousands of generations.  As such, they are all-encompassing.  Only a relatively few sociopaths have escaped their sway.

So, if you’re confused and don’t know which way to go, don’t worry about religious commandments.  Ask Mom.