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One should treat all creatures in the world as one would like to be treated - Jainism .... Do unto others as you would have them do unto you - Christianity .... None of you truly believes until you want for others what you want for yourself - Islam .... Treat not others in ways you yourself would find hurtful - Buddhism .... What is hateful to you do not do to your neighbour - Judaism ....
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Wheat From the Chaff

February 14, 2007

After posting yesterday's blog, (Keeping our Eye on the Golden Goal) a reader brought to my attention the fact that Henry Ford was an extreme anti-Semite.

 Certainly it was never my intent to associate the Golden Rule, nor my own beliefs, with such an odious position and if anyone else noted the connection, please accept my sincerest apologies.

 I thought that perhaps the topic bore further examination.

 I did a little research around Ford's socio-political and religious attitudes. I found that he was also violently anti-union and had hired thugs to attack those who opposed him. The assembly line and working for "piece rate", Ford's great idea, actually reduced wages while pushing employees to work harder.

 I was also surprised at catching glimpses of other names whose quotes I have used, not in this blog, but certainly in other venues. Carl Jung and Thomas Edison are examples. Prominent people whose names are also associated with attitudes that we are still working hard to disempower in our society.

And this in turn led me to ask a question – can we access the wisdom of such people in one area when they are so obviously at odds with a Golden Rule perspective in others? How do we sort the wheat from the chaff? Or perhaps more accurately, the kernels of grain from the weed seeds?

 Anti-Semitism of course is still with us. And alongside it now is rising a new anti-Islamism in the West, and perhaps an anti-Christianity, or anti-Westism, in the Middle East.

 I am, as are many others, a proponent of the universality of the Golden Rule. Of the use of this foundational statement as a point of commonality between the world's faiths and cultures.

 It seems to me as though we must continue to say, in a strong clear voice and in every venue possible, that the denigration of any group by another or by an individual, is not only unacceptable but is contrary to the core statement of every life affirming system of belief and governance practiced by humanity.

 Only by continually engaging in such action can we hope to distill the essence of our humanity, of our interconnectedness, and to move toward an understanding of each other that does not require the marginalization of one to validate another.

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