Proverb

“Treat others how you would want to be treated”

Claire learned this proverb when she was very young, around five years old, when she ended up hurting friend’s feelings and then was very upset when that friend no longer wanted to hang out with her. Her mother told her that she needed to follow the “Golden Rule,” that being, “Treat others how you would want to be treated.” Claire took this to mean that you should always treat others with respect that way you will also always be treated with respect. This rule along with many others helped guide Claire into making moral decisions and become a kinder person. Claire heard this proverb over and over when growing up and believes that her mother repeated it so much in order to really engrain it in her so that she would always be a courteous person. She recalls that she heard it most when she was about to meet new people, especially older guests.

This proverb is an extremely prevalent one especially when in respect to your friends and family. However, Claire pointed out that this rule is meant to apply to everyone, not just your friends in your circle. She said you are meant to treat every single person this way in order to live a moral life. Claire’s mother stressed that you should love those you hate even if there is extreme malice because in the end if you retaliate towards an enemy and cause them pain, you are no better then them. Also Claire pointed out that by treating others with decency and treating others exactly as you would want to be treated, later in life, if you end up working for that person or become close with them, you will mostly likely reap the benefits from being kind in the first place.

I agree with everyone Claire has pointed out. By treating others how you would want to be treated, you are creating an idea of equality. You are creating an atmosphere where no one is treated better than anyone else and thus everyone can get along cordially. Thus this proverb teaches an extremely important lesson that even in our past, such as when segregation was prominent, didn’t break through completely. But today, I believe proverbs like this teach important lessons and need to be taught to our youth in order to promote kindness.