The Golden Rule

The Golden Rule (TM) has long been a favorite of Christianity and philosphers trying to characterize and codify human morals.

As far as I can tell, Buddhists don't often know about the Golden Rule or don't care about it if they hear of it. I could be wrong, but I believe Buddhists simply say, "Treat people well and you'll be treated well." I like the simplicity and the implied cause and effect approach of that but I digress. Not to mention, I'm not the least bit qualified to discuss Buddhism in depth.

What is the Golden Rule? It says, and I gleefully paraphrase, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." Essentially, the Golden Rule is a simplified code of ethics but as you'll see below, it has serious pitfalls.

Christians, using the Golden Rule, attempt to explain WHY you should treat people well. The reason is very selfish, not the least bit altruistic: Selfishness. Self-centeredness. Treat people well simply because you hope they are also going to treat you well? Okay, I realize there is a subtle difference between the Golden Rule and the "Buddhist" philosophy I quoted above. But the difference IS there, barely noticeable, and determined to look innocent while in reality, lying in wait to deceive, as it were.

The implication is, if you treat someone well, you should expect them to treat you well. Or worse, if you treat someone badly, you could expect reprisals from them. Hogwash. How could anyone possibly imply that because you treat them a certain way, the other guy would or should respond in kind? I think it's a naive point of view and it baldly implies that everyone is going to act like you do. That won't happen unless we all become robots who act exactly the same 'cause we all have the same programming.

Absurd.

Just 'cause you treat a person badly is no reason to believe he will abandon some code of ethics to which he holds in order to avenge himself on you. Nor should one be so naive as to assume that if you treat a person well he will abandon a life of crime and suddenly start treating you like a saving saint. (Okay, it happens, but rarely.) In fact, to assume either of those premises to be true would be grossy prejudicial and inconsiderate.

And here's the worst part of the Golden Rule: It assumes, much like the above, that how YOU want to be treated is how other people want to be treated. Pigs' swill. It's a very lazy way to shuffle off responsibility for other people from you to . . . the other person? I can't imagine that how *I* wish to be treated is the same way everyone else wishes to be treated. Okay, maybe a few, but not all and probably not very many, either.

Bear in mind, I've taken a Devil's Advocate position here in hacking at the Golden Rule. In essence, however, it's only flawed when put into practice in an unthinking way. But if used by thoughtful, intelligent people, it has a great deal of value. Most people who espouse the Golden Rule really haven't put a lot of thought into it. They misinterpret its meaning because they had it spoon-fed to them from the pulpit and they gobbled it up without considering the application of it carefully, if at all. The end result is, it gets perverted as described above.

What in the hell am I talking about? Here's the bottom line: I wish to be treated well but specifically, I wish to people to take a look at me, figure me out, and decide how *I* wish to be treated. I do NOT want people to treat me like they wish to be treated. I'm different from everyone else. I don't like the same things other people do. I love things which other people despise. Of course, I have some common interests with other people and that frequently gives us a good starting point, along with shared culture and backgrounds. But for a person to assume that I'm, "Like this," or "Like that," or worst of all, give no thought whatsoever to the question and slot me in with the rest of humanity is, well, inhuman.

The Golden Rule should be put into practice but not in the shallow way in which it is carelessly lofted from the pulpits of churches. People must consider that what they wish for and what their contacts wish for should be thought of carefully, with care for the character and inner desires of each individual. Otherwise, the benevolence of the Golden Rule becomes shoddy at best, tortuous at worst.

Indeed, The Golden Rule could be said to be a bane to stupid people and a boon to smart people using it sincerely.

Frankly, I think the Golden Rule lost its lustre many many years or centuries ago when people erroneously decided that treating everyone the same was an appropriate interpretation of the Golden Rule.

--Wag--