while(self++) { #23 } // The Golden Rule*
The Golden Rule is a powerful and long-standing adage: Treat others as you want to be treated. I’ve done my best to use it as a guiding beacon for much of my actions. And yet, it needs a major asterisk. The Golden Rule presumes that everyone has the same value system as the basis for how people should be treated.
Let me be clear. This is not denying the prospect of respect for others or equal treatment before the law. Moreso, it’s the idea that different cultures have different mores and norms that are bound to foster intergroup tension and judgment. Answers to questions like how much work ethic is required, how strictly children should be raised, how much deference elders should be given, how clean a house should be, how much community involvement is necessary brings out strong feelings in people. And yet, you don’t need to belong to another culture to know that even those in the same culture disagree about such things. Heck, even those in the same family!
People ascribe different levels of importance and possess different tolerance levels for the same things. Hence the Golden Rule feels incomplete. What annoys one person may not annoy someone else. What counts as respect to you may not feel necessary to your friends. What hurts one may not hurt another. And yet, even that sounds like something is missing. People hurt and disrespect one another all the time, without realizing how much pain they cause. Does that make their actions any less wrong? Are there universal principles that transcend the variability of people’s tolerances? Does this mean that there will always be unsolvable conflicts?
