“Treat others as you’d like to be treated,” is – or rather was – The Golden Rule.
This no longer rings true today. In a society where so many are hurt or offended by innocuous words or comments, we have no clue how someone else wants to be treated. And it is safe to say, that many don’t want to be treated as we do.
My father calls most females ‘honey’ and most males ‘buddy.’ It is not intended as an insult, and I’ve not heard one male claim to be offended by his use of ‘buddy.’ Luckily, for him, he has not received backlash for referring to females as ‘honey.’ I hate to be that person constantly warning him that one day, he may encounter a problem. Maybe I’m bias, but I can’t imagine anyone getting mad at him for using either ‘honey’ or ‘buddy.’ He’s just lovable like that and he uses both as terms of endearment, spoken with such exuberance and warmth.
Yet we live in a society of he and she, him and her, they and them. We live among those who refer to themselves as a ‘furry,’ the people identifying as cats, or dogs, wolves or horses, and who knows what else.
Some women berate men for holding the door for them or giving them a compliment. Some men are insulted if a woman pays the bill, while other men expect it. Some wives expect mutual effort around the house while other wives want the men to do men things, while they tend to women things – can anyone define those categories for me?
In my opinion, it truly depends on the people and what works for them. I have parents who posture for who will do the dishes or vacuum the rugs – a neutrally gendered household in many ways and simply two best friends who made decisions and fell into routines based on love, not a set of rules or assigned chores. The whole men are from Mars and women are from Venus thing has never resonated in my family – and certainly not with me. Probably why I’m single, but my dog loves me. 🙂
So today, what is The Golden Rule and how do we apply it in our day-to-day interactions?
Others may not want to be treated like you do, and you may not want to be treated like them.
For me, The Golden Rule is simple: Be kind. Be courteous. Be tolerant. Be respectful.
