The Commandments of the American Religion

"Crunchy Con" Rod Dreher, whose blog postings I have been enjoying very much recently (he's become, like Andrew Sullivan, one of my daily reads), references in one of his postings a column by James Altucher that posits some of what Altucher would call the great American shibboleths. Conventional beliefs that are sacrosanct in the American consciousness. But Altucher also believes that these "Commandments of the American Religion" constitute a "fickle and false religion." It's an interesting list. Here they are, listed simply without elaboration (see Altucher's piece for more explanation):

#1 Thou Shalt Own a Home.
#2 Thou Shalt Go to College.
#3 Thou Shalt Recognize that Some Wars Are Holy.
#4 Thou Shalt Obey the Constitution.
#5 Thou Shalt Give to Charity.
#6 Thou Shalt Obey the Food & Drug Administration.
#7 Thou Shalt Always Vote.
#8 Thou Shalt Choose Between Two Political Parties.
#9 Thou Shalt Recognize the Media as the "Fourth Estate."
#10 Thou Shalt Forever Progress Toward the Frontier.

It is interesting, isn't it? I'm not sure I buy into all of them, but it does make one think. Anyway, Dreher asks his readers if there's anything to add to this list. Of course, I came up with one:

#11 Thou Shalt Revere the Individual Above All Else and Place No False Gods of Community Before Him.