If the world truly followed the Golden Rule, would there be peace?

Question

The Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
Almost every religion has this rule somewhere in their teachings. Why don't we follow it?

Answer 1

I think so. The one golden rule that would encompass everything would be to "Do onto others as you would have them do onto you" If everyone followed that one rule. People would express more with love than war. Imagine ....no more hurt feelings because of spity comments or evil doings. Beautiful.

Answer 2

Obviously the world does not follow the Golden Rule, only individuals. And there has never been a time when the world has had peace. So much for the religious philosophy when applied to globally.

Answer 3

It's a wonderful rule, one that we would all do well to follow - except OTHERS MAY NOT WANT TO BE TREATED THE WAY WE WANT TO BE TREATED! Anyone who is "Not Me" will have different beliefs, different wants and needs. This is true not only for people from different cultures, but also for people within the same families. Therefore, the rule should be "Do unto others as they would do unto themselves." It's a matter of respect for both individuals and societies.

Answer 4

I think there would be "peace" as we understand that term. There would still be trouble between people but to a far less extent. Kant's imperative seem to be another way to state this. He argued that no one should be used as a means to an end. The person themselves should be "the end" and I see the Golden Rule as just another way to say this. Actually the Christian Golden Rule was adopted by St. Paul from the Stoics of Greece. Saul of Tarsus (third major center of Stoicism at the time) was a Jew and his education included, in part, Stoic philosophy.

Answer 5

It is nearly impossible for a person to always follow the Golden Rule. Its simply human nature. If people did follow this rule, I believe that the world would be a much better place.

Answer 6

Even if we all followed the Golden Rule there would not be peace. Because there are too many weirdos in the world. Like bi-Laden who think killing is good and the way to get world peace and they do not care about themselves or how they treat others.People like him interpret the Golden Rule to fit their needs.

Answer 7

The problem is, too many people have the "do unto others" part down and forget the rest. But there is hope, as long as people keep asking about and reminding us about the Golden Rule. Even Rodney King asked, "Why can't we all just get along?"

Answer 8

You ask an excellent question--one that I too, have pondered on occassion. Yes, I believe there would be peace. Think about it..."do unto others as you would have them do unto you"... you wouldn't want anyone to mistreat you, to make you feel foolish, to embarrass you, to hurt your feelings, to hit you or hurt you physically in any way. You would want people to treat you kindly, with respect and to see you as a person of worth. So, if everyone actually followed the Golden Rule, and everyone felt as I've described above, we would not be hurting one another because we would be treating others as we'd want to be treated.

Sadly, we have become a civilization of selfish people. We want what WE WANT without any regard for what others want or need. We have become a society of "ME, ME, ME" having forgotten that it is better to give than to receive and that serving one another is what we have been called to do. Alas, all we can do is to do our part and to actually follow the rule ourselves.

God bless you.

Answer 9

Well the world does follow the golden rule those who have the gold make the rules!

Answer 10

The golden rule is in all religions because it's a law of the universe based on our own ability to create our lives with our thoughts today bringing our tomorrows. People blame misfortune on chance or fate, but they'd done something to draw that misfortune to them.

When we finally realize more of the power of our own minds over this illusion we call earth, people will follow it.