I'm not affilliated with any religion, but if there was one idea that I am agreement with regarding religion, it is the practice of the Golden Rule. It turns out that the Golden Rule is apparent in almost every major religion- LINK
Chances are as a young kid, you were taught this rule, commonly in the form of "Do onto others as you would wish them do onto you." It was one of those things that you never questioned, because it made complete sense just by understanding it. I think the most important thing is that it is the easiest way to realize empathy. It is empathy in a sentence. By applying this rule in an interaction, you are practicing empathy in its simplest form. It forces you to step outside of yourself and see and feel things from another perspective.
I'm by no means perfect, but lately I've been really trying to apply this rule to most of my behavior, and I'm beginning to find out that it is really hard. At times I completely forget and there are rare occasions when I know I'm violating it but ignore it anyway.
Now what troubles me is it seems we are living in a society that is forgetting this rule. I've made some statements in other posts, as have other posters, mentioning that we live in the most self-centered and selfish era of human civilization. I believe that more than ever now. Even some of the material on this site goes against this rule.
I feel this is an interesting topic to explore and is relevant to many things. Some questions for you all: Do you consciously try to apply the Golden Rule in your life? Do we live in a society that is ignoring it? If so, what would be the consequences? I know this is talked about in ethics but I also would like to talk about how it has affected you personally.
Chances are as a young kid, you were taught this rule, commonly in the form of "Do onto others as you would wish them do onto you." It was one of those things that you never questioned, because it made complete sense just by understanding it. I think the most important thing is that it is the easiest way to realize empathy. It is empathy in a sentence. By applying this rule in an interaction, you are practicing empathy in its simplest form. It forces you to step outside of yourself and see and feel things from another perspective.
I'm by no means perfect, but lately I've been really trying to apply this rule to most of my behavior, and I'm beginning to find out that it is really hard. At times I completely forget and there are rare occasions when I know I'm violating it but ignore it anyway.
Now what troubles me is it seems we are living in a society that is forgetting this rule. I've made some statements in other posts, as have other posters, mentioning that we live in the most self-centered and selfish era of human civilization. I believe that more than ever now. Even some of the material on this site goes against this rule.
I feel this is an interesting topic to explore and is relevant to many things. Some questions for you all: Do you consciously try to apply the Golden Rule in your life? Do we live in a society that is ignoring it? If so, what would be the consequences? I know this is talked about in ethics but I also would like to talk about how it has affected you personally.