This is actually something I wrote a short while ago, but it’s rather difficult to come up with an original thought when one tries to do that specifically, you know?
It’s a rule, but is it Golden??
Gold: the precious metal that tempted every culture that discovered it. A valuable element, a rare ore; it’s adjective form is used to denote high value. So we come to the topic of discussion: The rule so valuable it is “golden.”
What it says:
“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
What it requires:
The Golden rule has at its base the supposition that all people want to be treated the same way. If you want to be treated one way, it argues, then so does the other person (hence the reason for treating them that way).
Obviously this supposition is false. Because I like to be given peanut butter cookies does not mean the action will be equally appreciated by someone with a peanut allergy.
More broadly, the Golden Rule encourages us to impose our paradigm onto other people. Introverts who heed the call of the Rule will leave others alone, they are likely to seem standoffish, or self absorbed by following such a course of action. Extroverts, by contrast would likely seek to give company to anyone available, making themselves a nuisance.
What it leads to:
The imposition of ones paradigms upon another would not be so bad, were it not so widespread and generalized. We, as a society, have lost our ability to empathize. We don’t understand where another person is coming from, largely because we assume it’s the same place we’re coming from.
The problem:
The Golden rule is established for children so that they have some basis on which to make decisions concerning their treatment of their fellow people. We can’t, as a society, disregard the need for such a basis, nor can we neglect to introduce it early in psychological development.
The proposal:
The key to society’s interaction with itself is not found in treating others in the same way we would want ourselves to be treated. It is in treating others with mutual respect. Obviously mutual respect must be cultivated, not commanded. Therefore the important thing is not to impress upon our nation’s youth a trite expression, but to teach them that every person has value, the same value as their own, even. Though people are not like them, they must learn that they are worth the same, and they have equal contributions to make to society.
