- Back to Basics. What Are They?
By Barrington H. Brennen, October 3, 2003
I have never heard a statement used more often in recent times than "let’s
go back to basics." It comes from concerned citizens who are fed up with
the state of our families and society. It speaks of the colossal effect of the
great number of people in society who do not have the fundamental skills needed
for healthy nation building.
The basics of life are first and best transmitted from parents to children.
No school, church, society can function as parents. The basic individual
values
needed to build healthy families and society are: literacy, industriousness,
faithfulness, selflessness, integrity and honesty, reliability, loyalty,
friendliness, community, sobriety, equality, justice, mercy, and righteousness.
I have formulated ten basic principles of family life
that affect nation building. I am anxious to hear your views on our families and
nation building.
- RATING OUR NATION’S HEALTH
The goal is to encourage you to rate your family and our your country’s
ability to apply these basic values to build positive families and your nation
(RATE BOTH). In order to have your voice heard
on how well we apply these basic values, place a number from 1 to ten (range)
under FAMILY and under NATION on the questionnaire.
1 = extremely poor to 10 = excellent.
How did you rate our families? How do your rate our ability to apply these
basic values to our (your) Nation? If our families are weak in any or all of
them, then make it your decision to change and learn the needed skills so that
our nation can be healthy. If you rate the nation as unhealthy, then you must do
something to change it. Note carefully that this is not intended to be a
scientific study but a simple format to encourage thinking and change in our
society.
-
- Ten Basic Principles of Family Life that Affect Nation
Building
By using numbers 1 through 10
type in the blanks the number that you feel best describes the skill level of
your nation’s families for each of the statements below. The
GRAY
COLUMN is where you rate the nation. The
GREEN
COLUMN is where you rate the family. Number 1 equaling extremely poor
to number 10 equaling excellent ability to apply the basic principles of
positive family life and nation building. RATE BOTH. Press the SUBMIT
button after completing the form.
- Basic Individual Values Needed for
Healthy
Nation Building
By Barrington & Annick Brennen, 2003
Literacy -The ability
to read and write with full comprehension, to interpret, transfer and apply
knowledge to new situations.
Community - A spirit of togetherness. "No man is
an island."
Equality - Fairness, the equal treatment of people
regardless of color, race, gender, religion, ethnicity, and physical status.
Faithfulness - The quality of being steadfast. Can be
depended upon in all relationships through bad and good times.
Friendliness - Warm, welcoming, and respectful to all
with whom we come into contact.
Industriousness - Steady attention and effort to one’s
occupation. Seizing opportunities for growth and change. Creativity.
Integrity and honesty - Moral or ethical strength. The
quality of being honest, transparent, and consistent. No sneaking around.
Loyalty - Faithfulness or devotion to a person, a
cause, obligations, or duties popular or unpopular.
Justice - The state of being just and unbiased. The
principle of treating all persons equally. Dealing with problems in all
spheres of life with equity.
Mercy - Kind, forgiving, or compassionate treatment of,
or disposition towards others, even in unjust situations.
Reliability - Capable of being depended upon, no matter
what.
Selflessness - Putting others above self.
Sobriety --Temperance. Abstinence from alcohol,
tobacco, and illegal drugs. Moderation in the amount of food one consumes.
Righteousness - Being morally sound and taking courses
of action because one is connected to The Higher Power.
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