THUMBNAIL ETHICAL RULES

From the "Ethics" section of a personal collection of quotations called THE KNAPSACK SUNDAY BOOK (that is, some portable sources of essential thoughts):

In truth, the earth can be a treacherous place, and people who are morally untested may find themselves unprepared for the most extreme situations that are possible. On a television program about the Holocaust, three offspring of Holocaust survivors gave what seemed a good thumbnail ethical guide. (It is not surprising that two of them have a totally pessimistic view about human nature). Note the word "try." My notes or my memory are inadequate so I will word what they said in two ways:

Try not to be a perpetrator. [Try to never be a perpetrator.]
Try not to be a bystander. [Try to never be merely a witness.]
Try not to be a victim. [Try to never be a victim.]