SIX PILLARS

 

In the last few blog submissions, I have been looking at the values extolled by The Character Counts Foundation, known as the “Six Pillars.”  I pointed out that the six values spell the consonants in the word TeRRiFiCC. I thought that was my clever observation, but on further research, I have noticed that the Character Counts foundation already had that mnemonic on their website, and I realised that it was no co-incidence that they wrote the six values in that particular order. Not only do have the Terrific mnemonic, but they have a colour scheme too. The Colour Scheme for the values already discussed are as follows:

 

TRUSTWORTHINESS – BLUE (“True Blue”).

 

R    E    S    P    E    C    T – GOLD (“The Golden Rule”)

 

R E S P O N S I B I L I T Y – GREEN  (“Solid and reliable like an oak.”)

 

F    A    I    R    N    E    S    S – ORANGE (“Sharing an orange fairly.”)

 

The webpage goes defines the six values briefly. Those that I have already discussed, I shall briefly define here as they are defined on the webpage:

 

TRUSTWORTHINESS: Be honest, don’t deceive, cheat or steal. Be reliable – do what you say you’ll do. Have the courage to do the right thing. Build a good reputation. Be loyal – stand by your family, friends and country.

 

RESPECT: Treat others with respect. Follow the Golden Rule. Be tolerant of differences. Use good manners, not bad language. Be considerate of the feelings of others. Don’t threaten, hit or hurt anyone. Deal peacefully with anger, insults and disagreements.

 

RESPONSIBILITY: Do what you are supposed to do. Persevere: keep on trying! Always do your best. Use self-control. Be self-disciplined. Think before you act – consider the consequences. Be accountable for your choices.

 

FAIRNESS: Play by the rules. Take turns and share. Be open-minded; listen to others. Don’t take advantage of others. Don’t blame others carelessly.

 

 

I’d like to finish off this blog by thanking Mr. Michael Josephson for the marvelous work he is doing through the Character Counts Foundation. His commentaries that I get weekly by e-mail, are really inspiring and thought provoking. Although Mr. Josephson is, as far as I can gather, an observant Jewish man, and I am a Christian, I can honestly say that in terms of values and morality, we both have a lot in common, and I truly admire the fervency with which Mr. Josephson advocates a high moral standards across society.