What is the Golden Rule

Do you know what is the Golden Rule and where it originated from? Do you know what it means? If not, then this article will tell you all about the Golden Rule. Read on for more information.

In the year 1963, the American President, in an anti-segregation speech, had made use of the Golden Rule. This was the period when African Americans were being treated badly, when they were not allowed to vote or even eat in the same place as the others. He asked the 'whites' to put themselves in the shoes of the African Americans and try to imagine what they would feel if they were treated in a similar manner. He further said, "Heart of the question is...whether we are going to treat our fellow Americans as we want to be treated." Some of you might have heard about the phrase in the Holy Bible, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" (Matthew 7:12). Some people believed that the Golden Rule originated from Christianity with the particular phrase. But, there is a different story behind it. Let us first see what is the Golden Rule first before we know more about its origin.

The Golden Rule

In simple terms, one can say that the Golden Rule is actually the modern concept of Human Rights and it talks about how every human being has the right to receive justified treatment and also has the responsibility to ensure a just and able justice for others. It is an ethical code which states that one should treat others in the same way as one would like others to treat them. The main aim of the Golden Rule is to promote empathy i.e. feeling what others feel. In order to understand the Golden Rule, the main thing that we all need is knowledge and imagination. The knowledge that we need to have is what effect will our action have on other people while we need to try to imagine what we would feel when we are in the shoes of the other person.

Some people believe that the origin of the golden rule takes place in Christianity. But the earliest form of the Golden Rule goes back to nearly 3000 BC. Given below are the various Golden Rules from various world religions and also by some of the famous men during those days. This will help you to understand what is the Golden Rule.