It’s the best of times, it’s the worst of times. A country in turmoil and division then in the 18th century, and a country, a world in turmoil today. I think this pandemic has brought out the best in us and unfortunately the worst in us. The French Revolution finally ended after two years, abandoning a monarchy for government by the people. And what do we want to give up? Ignore the welfare of others in order to promote our self-interest and our desires? Hopefully, instead, we can let go of self-centeredness and come together, bring unity through love and harmony with respect and reverence for our fellow human beings.
We are, supposedly, predominantly a Christian nation. And as such, it behooves us to practice the golden rule given to us in the Bible, Luke 6:31: “And as ye would have men do unto you, so do unto them.”
If we only and truly practiced this one tenet of Christianity, would we see discord, division, anger, restlessness, rejection of others’ opinions, and non-acceptance of one another unless we adhered to their beliefs? Would we feel ashamed? I recently read in Pastor David Hegg’s column about this same sentiment and I pray, at the very least, that his parishioners will follow suit.
The world’s 10 or so major religions practice some form of golden rule, that is, what hurts yourself hurts your neighbor (Hebrew), he is not a true believer as long as ‘he does not love for others what he loves for himself (Islam), consider your neighbor’s gain as your own gain and your neighbor’s loss as your own loss (Sikhism). And if all of us who believe in a higher power, in a Supreme Being, could really make an effort to practice the basic principle of our own religion, or if you are an avowed atheist practicing the Golden Rule, I believe that we could change the world in the blink of an eye.
Norma Lindemann
Santa Clarita
