My Soap Box!

I feel the need to rant and rave a little bit. I have this issue, and it is what I used to tell my students is my Soap Box Issue--meaning that it is one of the few things I would preach to them about. The topic at hand is all about how we treat people. Perhaps all those years of reading the Golden Rule poster actually rubbed off on me, so thank you, Mom. I am beginning to ramble, so let me get to the point.
As part of my new responsibilities at church, I am working a little bit with the Young Women. We all know that being a teenage person today is challenging enough, so why is it that they have to make it harder for one another? The ways in which we treat one another, simply just as fellow members of the human race is so important. People are mean and hateful and hurtful to one another, and there is absolutely no reason for it. None! Where does the responsibility fall to teach this simple idea to the next generation? Why are they not getting it? Why does it bother me so much? How am I going to instill the love of everyone into my own children when the world continually tears one another down?
At the end of my Senior year in High School, I had an unusual expereince. In AP English one day, a girl who not many people liked or were nice to pulled me aside before class one day. She had a gift bag in her hands, and she handed me the bag and said, "I just wanted to give you this as a 'thank-you' for being so nice to me when no one else was." I had no idea what to say to that. Honestly, I never remember going out of my way to be nice to this girl. I just remember that the lesson of that Golden Rule forever cemented into my heart and head that day. "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." Where is that in our world?
I am not perfect in this. I stick my foot in my mouth more often than not. Everyone knows that I can't hide my emotions. I don't like every person on the planet. I don't think we are meant to. Other people are part of the big test of life. It is how we deal with others that counts. It is how we treat them when we are angry. It is how we treat them when we are hurt and upset. It is how we treat them when we have hurt and upset them. Our attitude towards others is important.
I am not saying that anyone should roll over and take a beating from someone who doesn't understand how to treat people. We have a right to stick for ourselves, to be leaders, to tell others that it is not okay to treat me in such and such a way. It is okay to be an authority figure and expect that others will treat you with the respect demanded by your station. It is not okay to treat others badly because of that station or position, however. Some of the best leaders live the Golden Rule very well. So, share it. Spread it. Remind your friends, neighbors, children, students, strangers that the Golden Rule still exists. That it still applies. That it can work miracles in someone's day.