Tuesday, June 10, 2014

The Golden Rule


Therefore all things whatsoever you would that men should do to you, do you even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets. –Jesus

Do unto those downstream as you would have those upstream do unto you.  –Wendell Berry

Newsflash: Doing Unto Others doesn’t mean behaving toward others as if they had the same likes, dislikes, desires, and turn-offs that you have. “But I love it when people smack me upside the head!” Doing Unto Others is more of a global mindset and attitude to guide our behaviors toward all people … unless we are full of self-hatred and then, please, whatever you do, do NOT, “Do unto others.”

Okay: How is it that I want people to do unto me?

I want people to be loving and charitable, not hateful or spiteful: to speak their truths in love, wanting my best far more so than wanting to Be Right.

I want people to love and accept me for who I am (not the same thing as approving of everything I do or say, by the way), and not to be constantly seeking to make me into who they wish I were.

When people hear wild and wooly stories of me, I want them to call and ask for my take, my perspective, and my experience before they blast me to kingdom come on Facebook or anywhere else.

If I do fall, fail, or flop, a helping hand would certainly be appreciated. If you don’t want to do this, got it. But if you can’t be a Good Samaritan, could you at least be a Quiet Samaritan?

I want people to respect my beliefs and feelings, even when they disagree or do not understand. It has always baffled me when people throw caca at all that I hold sacred and think I should be cool and calm with this. If I verbally abuse your spouse, children, or closest of friends, tell me: is it even in the vicinity of sanity for me to expect you to be all chummy with me? That’s what I thought.

I want people to not steal from me, not lie about me, and, please, don’t murder me, literally or metaphorically.

I want people to respect my unalienable rights.

I want people to relate to me as an individual, not as a statistic, a member of a sociological group, a cog in a wheel, or as a potential scalp for their lodges. I am myself, not “them.” I am a person, not a thing: a subject not an object.

Now, Wilson, don’t be a hypocrite: Get out there and Do Unto Others.

Copyright, Monte E Wilson, 2014

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