A Public Service Announcement

[athelind]

If there is a single lesson in all the world's religions and philosophies that is more important, more useful, and more conducive to benevolent living and spiritual soundness than The Golden Rule, it is this:

The finger pointing at the Moon is not the Moon.

Stop mistaking your models for reality. The map is not the territory; the word is not the thing.

This has been a public service announcment.

Comments

[scarfman]

"A footprint doesn't look like a boot."

[r-caton.livejournal.com]

You realise you are undermining the whole philosophy behind New Labour, right?

[silussa.livejournal.com]

Athelind, you're undermining many major religions with that. Now cut it out! :)

[returntonull.livejournal.com]

That's not a finger...!

[cpxbrex.livejournal.com]

*thinks* Um . . . uh, the world's two biggest religions sorta . . . propose that what is in their holy works is actually far more real than anything else in "this world". *shifty eyes* I mean, seriously, the biggest groups of people in the world who believe that the word is the thing are religious folks.

And, really, is the Golden Rule a good idea? Isn't it pretty arrogant to treat others like you want them to treat you? Hasn't a lot of misery come up from that belief?

[hafoc.livejournal.com]

"In the beginning was the Word. And the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made." John 1:1 through 1:3

Their dogma is more real than reality itself? Well, I ain't no Billy Grahm, but I think that quote speaks for itself.

[athelind.livejournal.com]

And, really, is the Golden Rule a good idea? Isn't it pretty arrogant to treat others like you want them to treat you? Hasn't a lot of misery come up from that belief?

Hmmm.

Following the Golden Rule, I'd say, "I'm not sure I follow your meaning. Could you clarify that?"

Eschewing such slave morality, however, I have to say, "What ARE you on about? Have you been smokin' the Nietzsche again, or have you on that Ayn Rand crack now?"

[cpxbrex.livejournal.com]

The Golden Rule projects your belief system onto other people. They might very well WANT you to treat them differently than you want to treat them. Implied in the Golden Rule are a number of statements that people rarely talk about, most significantly that you actually know how they want to be treated.

A lot of harm comes from this. Christians actually believe, after all, they're doing people a favor by threatening them with hellfire and damnation, engaging in all the methods of religious intimidation that the use -- and they are following the Golden Rule. If the situation was reversed, they very much WOULD want to be treated that way (and many of them, of course, were). That's the Golden Rule in action, and from personal experience IT SUCKS.

You could also cast liberal imperialist ventures in this light, too. Liberal imperialist very much believe they're doing the other people a favor by bringing them "civilization", and they fetishize their own conquest and imperalization (such as by the hands of the Romans). While I suspect if the shoe was on the other foot they'd hate it if they were imperialized, they honestly do believe that they would welcome it if a "superior" civilization imperialized them "for their own good". They, too, are applying the Golden Rule.

[hafoc.livejournal.com]

And pollution control laws are not pollution control.

And how effective you are at serving your cause is determined by how much you do, not how much you budget for it.

I work for politicians. Just shoot me.

[hedgegoth.livejournal.com]

Unrelated, I saw this mentioned in Mark Evanier's foreword to the Neil Gaiman Eternals HC:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/081099447X/ref=nosim/wwwpovonlinco-20