The Tarnished Golden Rule

Yes. I am Christian, but I find the Golden Rule which is originated in Christianity outdated. According to Matthew 7:12, The Bible, “The Golden Rule has been attributed to Jesus of Nazareth, who used it to summarize the Torah: Do to others what you want them to do to you. This is the meaning of the law of Moses and the teaching of the prophets” (“Golden Rule” 15). The Golden Rule is used in the past to control all people. One should treat others as same as what one wants to be treated. This rule, once, worked really well; however, it does not suitable for nowadays society (Klosterman 4). Terrible but true, we should not rely on the Golden Rule as the Golden Rule does not have any steady principles for judging.

“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” A key principle of the Golden Rule is presented in order to do what you want others to do for you. Nevertheless, it is impossible for everyone to have the same need. Marketing is created to penetrate some target groups as same as the new laws are created for the modern society instead of the Golden Rule. In other words, it is hard to define which criteria should be used to judge. Hence, when it comes to using the Golden Rule, it indicates that the result depends on the judge, not the constant law (Marccers 2). To illustrate, bigamy could be possible in the Golden Rule since the word “marry” could be seen as couple who upholds the ceremony (“Critical Analysis of the Literal, Golden and Mischief Rule” 19).

In the real life situation, the Golden Rule is abstract and somehow intangible compared with the surrealism of painting reflecting this norm of reciprocity (Pongpipat 4). “There are no real guideline to be used,” Macccers stated (2). The only principle for this norm is to be flexible according to the situations. For instance, amnesty might be given to a murderer just because he was not intended or drunk. It is extremely unfair to those who have lost someone special to their life.

Moreover, the judges could literally change to choose the most sensible meaning where there is more than one meaning to the words in the Act or Statute the law by shifting the definition of words. Unfortunately, we are not living in the honest planet called the earth. More than hundred countries out of 193 countries in the world are facing corruption problem. In the worst case scenario, the murderer has a chance to graft the committee. Then, the result would not be accurate anymore. How can we trust strangers who are selected to judge us? Thus, the Golden Rule which has no stable rules had better not use in society.

On the other hand, some people may argue that the situations are so different that we should use the literal rules which “judges rely on the exact wording of the statute for the case. They don’t interpret meaning,” UKessay stated (“Critical Analysis of the Literal, Golden and Mischief Rule” 3). “The Golden Rule allows the judge to choose the most sensible meaning where there is more than one meaning to the words in the Act or Statute,” Meccers explains (1).This is understandable that it is better to use human’s sense to judge for some cases. However, with changeable meaning to the words, it could lead to corruption and grafting in our society which brings about more and more problems.

All in all, the Golden Rule is not suitable in these days. It used to work spotlessly, until it did not. Our society has changed with more educated people and new innovations. Changes occur every single day, and it is not always the bad thing to change and use what is proper for us the most.

List of works cited

• “Golden Rule.” Wikipedia. 14 October 2016. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Rule. Accessed 19 October 2016.

• Klosterman, Chuck. “Does the Golden Rule Hold Up in Modern Society?” The New York Times. 25 October 2013. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/27/magazine/does-the-golden-rule-hold-up-in-modern-society.html?_r=0. Accessed 19 October 2016.

• Pongpipat, Kaona. “Intricate, abstract, wild.” Bangkok Post. 8 April 2015. http://www.bangkokpost.com/print/521995/. Accessed 19 October 2016.

• Maccers, Ben. “Advantages And Disadvantages Of The Golden Rule.” The Golden Rule. 12 March 2013. http://golden-rule-law.blogspot.com/2013/03/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-golden.html. Accessed 20 October 2016.

• “Critical Analysis of the Literal, Golden and Mischief Rule.” UKessays. November 2013. http://www.lawteacher.net/free-law-essays/administrative-law/critical-analysis-of-the-literal-golden-and-mischief-rule-law-essay.php?cref=1. Accessed 30 October p