by John Cargile

Created on: August 10, 2008   Last Updated: February 28, 2011

I recently attended a meeting where respect was the subject. Respecting others, respecting oneself set the tone for the meeting. It was an educational setting attended mostly by adult Caucasians.

In Birmingham, Alabama last weekend, sponsors had a R.E.S.P.E.C.T Rally for children going back-to-school. It was held in a park. Over 3,000 children attended, reports said.

RESPECT is an acronym for Respect Every Single Person Ever Created Today, and it stresses core values of respecting oneself enough to set a goal of finishing school, apologizing when you are wrong and dressing appropriately. It was predominately attended by African American children and their families or guardians.

Have our families and institutions become so callous that rallies and meetings need to be held to teach one of the world's greatest precepts? Apparently families cannot teach respect any longer. Maybe the Church has missed teaching the precept of respect?

All over the world there exists a simple precept that has the power to end conflict and banish strife. It is the Golden Rule, a key concept in many philosophies and spirituality's that admonishes us to "do unto others as we would have them do unto us."

Its meaning is quite crystal clear: treat others only in ways that you would want to be treated.

However, the golden rule is not always easy to follow. It can be a challenge to honor others as we wish to be honored. Yet, when we do so, we bestow a gift of loving kindness on our fellow human beings. And, in honoring others, we honor ourselves.

It is as uncomplicated a tenet as one could wish for. When we live by it, harming another person becomes nearly impossible. The Golden Rule is rooted in pure empathy and does not compel us to perform any specific act. Rather, it gently guides us to never let our actions toward others be out of harmony with our own desires.

The Golden Rule asks us to be aware of the effect our words and actions may have on another person and to imagine ourselves in their place. It calls on us to ask ourselves how we would feel if what we were about to do were directed toward us. And yet this rule invites us to do more than not harm others.

It suggests that we look for opportunities to behave toward others in the same ways that we would want others to act toward us. Showing compassion, being considerate of others, caring for the less fortunate, and giving generously are what can result when you follow the Golden Rule.

Adhering to the Golden Rule whenever possible can

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