Maravi

Rupiah, treat others as you would like to be treated

Rupiah, treat others as you would like to be treated
By The Post
Thu 23 Sep. 2010, 04:00 CAT

The MMD is starting to increasingly look like George Orwell’s Animal Farm. Orwell’s Animal Farm successfully presents how the mechanism of propaganda and brainwashing works in totalitarian regimes, by showing how the pigs could make the other animals believe practically anything. Responsible for the propaganda was Squealer, a pig that "could turn black into white".

Squealer managed to change the rule from "all animals are equal" to "all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others". He managed to convince the other animals that it was for their sake that the pigs ate most of the apples and drank most of the milk, that leadership was "heavy responsibility" and therefore the animals should be thankful to Napoleon, that what they saw may have been something they "dreamed", and when everything else failed, he would use the threat of " Jones returning" to silence the animals.

In this simple but effective way, Orwell presents the tragedy and confusion of thought control to the extent that one seems better off simply believing that “Napoleon is always right". How else can one explain the reaction to Enoch Kavindele’s announcement that he will be a candidate for the MMD’s vice-presidency at the party’s convention to be held early next year? And surprising, it is those who have been campaigning for Rupiah Banda to be the party president and its presidential candidate in next year’s elections.

Rupiah announced his candidature for this position a long time ago. And there are many others in the party who have declared him a sole candidate for the MMD presidency. Others have even gone beyond to suggest that there is no need even for presidential elections next year because Rupiah has done so well in his job as President of the Republic.

So measured against this background, what wrong has Enoch committed; what party rules or norms has Enoch violated? It seems in the MMD, what is good for the goose is not good for the gander. But this is not the way to live in a civilised society. There is need to treat others as we would like to be treated. We should always remind ourselves of the Golden Rule, “Treat others as you would like to be treated.” There is need for us to recognise and accept the Golden Rule as the clearest expression of God’s moral law for human behaviour.

There is need for all our political parties and other organisations of civil society to adopt the Golden Rule as their official policy. The immediate result of following the Golden Rule is that you will be treating other people very, very well. As well, in fact, as you would like them to be treating you. The ultimate result is that God will treat you the way you treat others. Even if you don’t believe in God, you should follow the Golden Rule because it will help you get along better in the world.

The Golden Rule leads to harmony among all people; it is the foundation of democracy; and it leads to the political goal of “Greatest Good for The Greatest Number, With Basic Rights for All.” To apply the Golden Rule, simply ask yourself “How would you like to be treated in the same situation?” Then treat the other person that way. When we say, “Treat others as you would like to be treated,” this includes all other people, not merely those who happen to be with us, to be on our side at the moment.

So we must also consider the impact of our actions on all other people, not only those who support us, those immediately before us. When we say “in the same situation,” this means that our roles and personalities must be mentally reversed, so that we see the situation from the other person’s point of view, trying to understand his needs and desires as if they were our own.

Also, we need to apply the “Rational Man” standard, long established in law. The Golden Rule does not require us to grant irrational requests made by insane persons, people who have lost their minds. The Golden Rule is universal. It is found almost in all societies and in all religions.

Some versions of it are found in most religions, yet it establishes no particular religion. In Hindu they say, “This is the sum duty; do naught unto others which if done to thee would cause thee pain”; in Zoroastrian: “That nature alone is good which refrains from doing unto another whatsoever is not good for itself”; in Taoist: “Regard your neighbour’s gain as your own gain, and your neighbour’s loss as your own loss”;

Buddhist: “Hurt not others in ways that you would find hurtful”; Confucian: “Do not unto others what you would not have them do unto you”; Jain: “In happiness and suffering, in joy and grief, we should regard all creatures as we regard our own self”; Jewish: “Whatever thou hatest thyself, that do not to another”; Christian: “All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them”; Islamic: “No one of you is believer until he desires for his brothers that which he desires for himself”; and Sikh: “As thou deemest thyself, so deem others.”

The Golden Rule is expressed twice in the Bible, and these are its clearest expressions, in the words of Jesus. Both of the Bible expressions are inclusive and complete: “So whatsoever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them; for this is the law and the prophets” (Matthew 7:12) and “And as you wish that men would do to you, do so to them” (Luke 6:31).

And there are a number of some of the best expressions of the Golden Rule in our modern English: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”; “Treat others as you would like to be treated”; “Treat other people the way you would like to be treated”; “Treat other people the way you want to be treated”; “Whatever you want people to do to you, do that to them.”

Christians, Jews, Moslems, Buddhists, Atheists and all other people can accept the Golden Rule without compromising their other true beliefs. If everybody would treat everybody else according to the Golden Rule, we would find a harmony among all people that has never been seen before. Some people actually believe that the Golden Rule embodies all of God’s law for mankind.

The Golden Rule is the foundation of democracy. And by democracy, we mean, in the literal sense, rule by the people. We say the Golden Rule is the foundation of democracy because it directs us to give the same power to others as we would like to have for ourselves, namely, the power to make decisions in matters affecting our lives. How much power?

The same power as we have ourselves, and this leads immediately to the issue of equality. So, democracy is the natural result of applying the Golden Rule to the questions: “What kind of government should we have, what kind of leaders should we have, and how should they govern and be chosen?”

Clearly, the Golden Rule leads directly to the idea of equality of all people under the law or rules of their organisations. And when the Golden Rule is applied to politics, it leads to policies which create “the greatest good for the greatest number, with basic rights for all”.

Thus, total good is maximised. This is clearly a perfect formula for happiness and social stability anywhere. Elsewhere, we have established that God’s basic law for all mankind is clearly stated as: “Love all people as yourself.”

Here, we see that the way we can best follow this basic law is follow the Golden Rule, which is most clearly stated as “Treat others as you would like to be treated”. Clearly, the Golden Rule leads directly to democracy and to a social policy of “the greatest good for the greatest number, with basic rights for all”. Thus, total good is maximised and none are denied their basic rights in life.

And the easiest way to apply the Golden Rule to real life is to ask yourself the question “how would you like to be treated in the same situation?” Then treat the other person that way. But also consider the impact of your actions on all other people, not only those you like, those who support you, those immediately before you. Thus, the Golden Rule does not mean that you need to do everything anybody wants you to do, as some people mistakenly believe.

If a person asks you to do something which would hurt other people, you need to weigh the impact of your actions on all people who would be affected, not just the person immediately in front of you who is making the request. Also, you need to apply the “Rational Man” standard, long established in law. The Golden Rule does not require you to grant irrational request made by irrational elements, crooked and corrupt characters who want to abuse power, public office and resources.

What is required is to give each person what he or she is justly entitled to receive from you. The Bible presents this concept as “Pay all of them their dues, taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honour to whom honour is due. Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbour has fulfilled the law” (Romans 13:7-8).

Justice is the set and constant purpose which gives to every person his due. And the precepts of the law are these: to live honestly, to injure no one, and to give every man his due. And we shouldn’t forget that it is said that whatever you give out to others eventually comes back to you.

It is a natural law, like gravity. So it is in your own best interest to treat them very well. To a Christian, this process is called “sowing and reaping”. Other religions might refer to this as “Karma”. Either way, the result is the same: “What you do comes back to you.” When you sow good things, a Christian calls this “storing up treasures in Heaven.”

This is what the double standards that the MMD seems to specialise in amount to. But these double standards are not only limited to their own internal mechanisms, they also try to apply them to the whole nation. Those in the MMD who are today quiet about what is going on will tomorrow cry.

The bells that are tolling for Enoch and others will tomorrow toll for them. This Animal Farm behaviour that today dominates and characterises the politics of MMD needs to be put to a quick end.

Labels: RUPIAH BANDA

posted by MrK @ 5:56 PM