The Golden Rule

I am simply amazed by the thought of how much everything would change (for the better) if everyone started treating everyone else the way they would like to be treated. The Toyota customer service representative who took our first call of distress on Thanksgiving Day from the wilds of northern Arizona might not have said there was nothing she could do for us if she had put herself in a similar situation. The Toyota service technician who erroneously gave our car a clean bill of health and sent us on our way to another breakdown might not have done that if he had thought about how he (or she; I don’t have a clue) would have wanted to be treated were he in a similar situation. The recent class in mediation training that I attended briefly touched on the ethics of customer service (I despise our regard for the public as “customers”) without even mentioning the ethic of mutual reciprocity—treat others as you want to be treated. I’m willing to speculate that if President Obama had entertained the Golden Rule while making his decision on Afghanistan, the outcome would have been quite different. If we have billions to spend overseas, then why wouldn’t it be for food, shelter and medicine? Our species has had only partial glimpses of the kind of world it could be if we loved one another rather than attacking each other. The classic illustration of this was the goodwill displayed toward our country after September 11, 2001 being squandered by our violent and warlike response. “You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. Someday I hope you’ll join us, and the world will live as one.” Thank you, John.

P.S. My heartfelt thanks to Rachel for Incite's new format that allows you to agree or disagree with my thoughts in simple anonymity. Your additional comments are still welcome as always.