The golden rule
Over a couple of drinks in his shed, my plumber mate, Gus, was
recently expounding his theory on modern society. With war looming and national
threats uttered with increasing regularity, some of the boys were proffering
their solutions to Iraq, North Korea, George Bush, the PM, refugees, the
Premier, the Crows and whoever else put up their heads.
When there was a slight lull in the conversation, Gus said:
“I think the golden rule applies here boys.”
There was silence in the shed while everyone looked intently
to see if Gus was again mounting one of his “hobby horses”. Finally
our Scottish mate, Ted, enquired if Gus was of the opinion Jesus would say we
should “treat these ‘rogues’ as we would like them to treat
us?” With a smirk, Gus responded: “No. Who has the gold, rules.”
The statement from Gus fired up the discussion again, with
some suggesting the impending conflict with Iraq was simply about oil, while
others thought George Bush was defending the Jews.
Our Irish mate, Mick, said Saddam couldn’t fire atomic
warheads armed with pestilence or poison onto the Jews without wiping out most
of the Palestinian people as well. Another corner of the shed deliberated over
a suitable response from Japan, which now allegedly has numerous rockets aimed
at her by North Korea. Everyone seemed in full swing.
Gus continued his musings. “It’s the ‘little
people’ who carry the load, you know. They are powerless in the real run
of things and finish up going into battle to make someone else richer. They are
the ones who send their kids off to war, and they are the ones who get their
houses and rellies bombed. It’s the same for both sides, too.
“When the chips are down and rockets are coming, Saddam
will be hiding in the hills and George will be hiding from the ‘little
people’ who want to ask him honest questions, and bring their sons and
daughters home.
“It’s the wealthy and powerful who run things in
this world, and most of what they decide is to protect their interests, not
because they really want to do what is best for everyone. The real golden rule
isn’t something they want to know about, because they don’t want
their interests or agenda upset.”
Ted grumbled: “You’re not really one of the little
people either, are you? Not like us workers. With your boat and beach house on
the peninsular, you’ve outgrown your theory. We work each day and pay our
taxes to keep you in good living.”
Ted was really getting wound up by now and would have
continued with his animated tirade but Gus’s wife, Floss, rapped on the
shed wall. She was requesting that Gus shift his Mercedes from across the
driveway so she could back her ageing “Vee Dub” out and get to the
shops.
When he returned, Gus rather sheepishly commented that it was
about time Floss bought a new car or kept out of his shed.
I hope the rules are golden at your place.
