The Golden Rule - most of us have heard of it, some of us practice it, even people without religion in their lives have to admit it's a simple blueprint for getting along in this world. So what has happened to it? Where has the concept of live and let live gone?
I've been thinking about this lately as I see things on the internet, largely on Facebook. Social media and the anonymity of the virtual world has given the world a platform for expressing the most heartless, sometimes shocking, often cruel thoughts that enter their collective heads. Proudly proclaiming their disdain for what they call 'political correctness', they spew their dark side without a care for what they are saying or who they may be hurting.
"The term political correctness (adjectivally: politically correct; commonly abbreviated to PC,... P.C., or p.c.) in modern usage, is used to describe language, policies, or measures that are intended to avoid offense or disadvantage to particular groups in society." ~Wikipedia
The idea of being politically correct has become a negative thing - perhaps due to some people taking it to a ridiculous extreme. In my mind, however, being p.c. is just an extension of the Golden Rule. Do Unto Others... It's not that hard and if anyone took a moment to apply it to their lives, this world would be a happier, kinder place. Plain old-fashioned courtesy, respect - things you learned in Kindergarten! Just because you think it, doesn't mean you should say it.
I've seen a lot of posts on Facebook about what a crappy year 2016 was and how they are glad to see it go. I can't say it was great for me personally, but I don't have much hope for 2017 to be better. With the election of an mentally unstable person to our highest office and his choice of cabinet members, I am very concerned about my future, as well as the whole nations. What concerns me most are the probable loss of affordable health care for thousands of my fellow Americans, cuts to social security - without it, I'll be homeless, the Twitter-in-chief getting us into a world war, and the most pervasive side effect I've ever seen, that being the demise of the Golden Rule particularly at a time when the world needs it most.
