The Golden Rule has been a principle for quite a long time. While it does appear in several religions, including Islam, Christianity, Judaism, and Buddhism, its exact origins are unknown. The earliest record of this rule appears in The Eloquent Peasant, an ancient Egyptian story estimated to have been written in ca. 1850 BCE. The Platinum Rule is a more modern principle, popularized in 1996 by Dr. Tony Alessandra’s book: The Platinum Rule. These two rules and their differences reveal a fact about society and human interaction: no one is the same.
Firstly, what exactly are these two rules? The Golden Rule is the principle of treating others the way you want to be treated. The Platinum Rule is similar, but changes slightly to treating others the way that they want to be treated.
The important distinction between the Golden Rule and the Platinum Rule is that it encourages empathy. While the Golden Rule has historically been a way to live your life in a generally kind way to others, the Platinum Rule introduces the reality that people have backgrounds, cultures, religions, personalities, and more that differ from your own. This makes it so that something that you would like for yourself might not be exactly what other people want. This way, you are encouraged to be empathetic towards others, recognizing their needs and treating them according to their preferences.
How exactly do we apply this in the real world? Well, it is always great to be polite to people. Whether it is a stranger or someone you have known for years, you must always treat them with kindness. Furthermore, showing others that you care about their individuality by engaging with them in positive ways that adhere to their own self will help form stronger connections. For example, let us say I have a friend who is from Malaysia. In Malaysia, there is a custom where, when people greet elders, they kiss their hand or put their hand to their forehead. This is a way to show respect. As someone who has lived in the U.S., this is not something that I practice myself. However, if my friend would feel more comfortable if I practiced this custom when visiting Malaysia or interacting with their family, my engaging with it shows that I can take their feelings into account through my actions. This is just one example. There are many cases where someone’s experiences can affect their everyday interactions, and being emotionally aware of these things helps to strengthen bonds and treat people with kindness and appreciation.
We can learn a lot from both of these principles. The difference between the Golden Rule and the Platinum Rule lies in the reality that people are different. The Golden Rule works perfectly if you are interacting with yourself, but other people are not going to be the same as you. Showing that you care about others’ emotions and backgrounds is such an important thing in building connections, and we should all try our best to recognize the very real feelings that everyone has.
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