The Golden Rule

Gold, it seems, from antiquity to the 
present has always been recognized for 
its precious, special properties and as such 
highly prized; for its mesmerizing gleam
its malleability, its beauty and relative rarity 
as a metal to be used well but sparingly. 
Little wonder its properties were used to 
describe moderation and civility as a yardstick 
by which human behaviour should aspire to 
become better than their raw emotions permit 
them to. Aristotle spoke of the Golden Mean 
to encourage moderation in all the ways
that humanity walks through life. Such a 
statement was said to be used by Jesus of 
Nazareth when he urged his followers to 
"do unto others as you would have them do 
unto  you", and even then the sentiment 
was not new, only insufficiently practised. 
Humankind is a stubborn beast, quick to 
offend, slow to amend. To the present day 
political and religious factions assert blame 
one on the other for violence inflicted when 
in fact it is no one faction nor ideology but 
the fervent ideological verse and chapter
identifying 'the enemy', sowing anger and 
the vengeance of those incited to claim 
victimhood leading to virulent hatred 
screening and augmenting the indomitable 
aspirational conquest of the righteous over 
the sinful values their enemies hold, the 
better to murder and enslave to maintain 
through terrorism sought-after supremacy.