Analysis Of The Golden Rule By Jim Yerman

In Jim Yerman’s “The Golden Rule,” the reader is presented with the notion that the world would most likely benefit from everyone simply remembering the mantra of “do unto others as you would have them do unto you”. Yerman mentions how we learn the Golden Rule at a young age, but over time we just seem to either forget or ignore it. The author also mentions that even if following the Golden Rule makes him look like a fool, he’s fine with that, especially if his small action makes the world a better place. This idea of the price of happiness and kindness is central to Yerman’s take on the Golden Rule.
In stanzas 1-4, the author addresses the many terrible things in our world today, such as “...many world religions fight…” and “We read of people murdering each other, even children…” Yerman included these kinds of statements as a way of drawing attention to what the world is becoming without the Golden Rule. The common question in all of these stanzas is what ever happened to the Golden Rule. The reader is forced to acknowledge all of the things going wrong and this also makes them question the disappearance of the Rule.

In stanzas 5-8, Yerman continues to call attention to the fact that there are many bad things in the world that could be avoided or made better if we just remembered the Golden Rule.

The reader’s attention is also drawn to the fact that people have began hating each other because of things that we cannot control. The author says that the Golden Rule hasn’t really evolved very far and that “In a world where we are so connected...when we’re so close, we’re still so far apart.” At this point, Yerman shows the reader just how tired he is of seeing these things when the solution has been right in front of us for a long

time.
In stanzas 9-13, the author talks about how all religions teach some form of the Golden Rule and how we should all “...practice what we preach.” This is because we are taught to act a certain way, but often times, we don’t actually do it. It also calls out the people who want to put the blame off on someone else when usually it’s them. Yerman wraps up the poem by restating his opinion on following the Rule, even if it makes him look like a fool. This is evidence of the fact that some people are willing to do whatever is necessary to try and make the world a little bit happier.
In conclusion, people are much more inclined to carry on their lives without following the Golden Rule, no matter the outcome; this apathy is at the root of many of our problems. Jim Yerman’s thoughts on how easily we have dismissed the Golden Rule tie in with the many bad things in our day to day lives, and show us how much we have neglected our own happiness to avoid the risk of looking like a fool.