Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 22, Number 8, 1 August 2005 — Moral codes offer a better way of living [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Moral codes offer a better way of living

In the past few years, the courts have had to respond to challenges regarding the display of the Ten Commandments in public buildings, schools and, most recently, courthouses. The Ten Commandments recite a moral code that we should all live by every day. Although this moral code has been banned in public places to "preserve the separation of church and state," our society would be a healthier plaee if every one of us lived the moral code of the Ten C ommandments . My friend, Kent Keith, at the age of 19 and while a student at Harvard in 1968, wrote the Paradoxical Commandments whieh was a part of The Silent Revolution: Dynamic Leadership in the Student Council, his first booklet for high school student leaders. These commandments were also published

in the Honolulu Advertiser on Dec. 1, 2003. "Do It Anyway"The Paradoxical Commandments People are illogical, unreasonable and self-centered. Love them anyway. If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives. Do good anyway. If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway. The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway. Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.

Be honest andfrank anyway. The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas ean be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds. Think big anyway. People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs. Fight for a few und.erd.ogs anyway. What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Help people anyway. Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth. Give the world. the best you have anyway. This excerpt was copyrighted by Kent M. Keith in 1968, 2001

and 2003. All rights reserved. For more information, visit www. paradoxicalcommandments. eom. From Do It Anyway: The Handbook for Finding Personal Meaning and Deep Happiness in a Crazy World. Published by Inner Oeean Publishing If you disagree with the Ten Commandments, perhaps you will choose to live by the Paradoxical Commandments. If you agree with the Ten Commandments and already try to live by them, perhaps you would like to add the Paradoxical Commandments to your daily lives. Ed.itor's note: Kent moved. to Hawai'i at the age of 14, attended Roosevelt High School and. Harvard College. He currently resid.es in Hawai'i.

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Oz Stender Trustee, At-large