Once I had to take my companies online video diversity training. In the video a Christian employee talks about how she likes to hug people and she says she tries to live by the Golden Rule. Her boss a Muslim, corrected her that the Golden Rule doesn’t always work and in diversity she should live by the Platinum Rule. The Platinum Rule says that you should treat people like they want to be treated. I have no problem with what the Platinum Rule means, but I have a problem with how they defined the Golden Rule.
The Golden Rule has nothing to do with giving people hugs or not. The Golden Rule is about treating others with respect. It is about being kind, good, and merciful towards others. In reality the Golden Rule and the Platinum Rule is really the same thing. But this course discounts the Golden Rule as not being good enough. It is also saying that the Platinum Rule is greater than a person’s religious beliefs. The fact that it was a Muslim that tells a Christian she is wrong is also a little concerning. I also find it interesting that a course on diversity would even make any reference to faith or scripture. The Golden Rule is not just some saying, but it is a part of the foundation of the Christian faith.
This training was not made by the company I work for, but was made by another company that makes employee training material. This is not the first time that I’ve heard of the Platinum Rule. It is widely used in business for diversity, customer service, and business relations training. But I guess I just never made the connection that the program is really giving a backhanded slap to the Christian faith. What would have happen if they would have taken some text from the Koran, Torah, or other religious material? Would that have been acceptable?
I’m not really mad about this. My faith is strong enough, but I considered this a “quiet” percussion.
