… the ones I grew up with and maybe you did too.

1. Thou shalt always agree with your parents (and pseudo-parents like daycare teachers, baby sitters, teachers, other kid’s parents and baby sitters, adults in uniform, adults not in uniform, priests, police, nice ladies, nice men, ADULTS). You shall maintain a pleasant outward demeanor no matter how much you hate doing what you are told to do.

2. Thou shalt not tell.

3. Thou shalt be good boys and good girls. Beyond obedience to adults and to the accepted rules of behavior, all girls will know their place and all boys will prove themselves.

4. Thou shalt not get caught. You must find ways to outsmart the system. The notion of achieving on merit alone is a quaint notion, but unfortunately it is the current social ideal. You must work around it.

5. Thou shalt always have an alibi or plausible deniability.

6. Sex is love.

7. Money is power. There is never enough.

8. Winners look like winners. Thou shalt spare no expense for the sake of appearance.

9.  Good guys finish last. Take with both hands.

10. Do as I say, not as I do.