The content of their Character, pt. 1

We all want our children to be good.  Some of us remember those immortal words of Dr. Martin L. King. 

But how many of us can easily recite a list of ingredients or traits a good character contains?  The parochial school where I didn't send my children has a special curriculum, complete with books, worksheets, and posters on the wall, stressing thirteen positive character traits.  We allow religious schools more leeway in discussing ethics, morals, and virtue than public schools.  However, as parents,we shouldn't depend on our children's schools to teach them how to be good people.

You might be blessed with wise parents, grandparents, or spiritual leaders who can tell you how to raise the perfect child.  If not, there is enough information out there in libraries and on the web that, if you're lucky, you might teach yourself before your children are grown.  But why reinvent the wheel when you have enough work on your hands as a parent already?  Here are some suggestions, taken from Ben Franklin, thought by some to be the wisest American of all time, and Rabbi Israel Salanter, the founder of the Jewish ethical movement, מוסר.

TRUTH

One of the most influential spiritual leaders of modern times, Rabbi Israel Salanter lived in Lithuania in the nineteenth century and founded the Mussar Movement in Judaism, which stresses the importance of ethics.  His ideas are the basis of many Jewish school curricula, and he codified a list of thirteen character traits that he thought everyone should try to cultivate.  The first on the list was Don't say anything unless you know in your heart that it is true.

In Benjamin Franklin's list of virtues,  Sincerity was #7: Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly.  Whichever scheme one chooses to use as a model, I think everyone agrees that honesty is a crucial character trait, and without it, people will not gain others' respect.
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