I have always been the dumbest of the smart people–you know, the person who lands in the advanced or accelerated class or program and then struggles to keep up. My interests and activities lean more toward the low (rather than the high) brow. So I certainly don’t have all the answers. But lately, it seems as if people who are rumored to be far smarter than I am have forgotten some of the basic rules of being a decent person.

Share credit for successes. Take full responsibility for the failures.

If you make a poor decision that yields tragic results for others, own your mistake and take the consequences. Don’t play the victim.

Disagree or criticize a person’s ideas or actions if you must, but don’t attack his/her personality or parenting.

If you really do believe that people who don’t agree with you are stupid, please don’t say it out loud or post it on FB–it only makes you look stupid.

Being respectful of other people’s religious beliefs doesn’t make you any less faithful to your own. In fact, engaging in conversation with people who believe differently often serves to strengthen one’s own faith.

Double check your righteous indignation to make sure it’s not just mean spiritedness.

Give help to those who need it. Accept help when you need it.

That’s what I’ve got. What would you add to this list?