Klingons and the golden rule
Do unto others as you would have
them do unto you. What an utterly human concept, right? What does this
have to do with being a Klingon? It has everything to do with being as
Klingon. What the humans have for generations called “the golden rule”
is at once both completely human and inherently Klingon.
Klingons do not lie. This is known fact. To lie would be to dishonor one’s self. If all Klingons do not lie then no Klingon would be expected to lie. Klingon children grow up learning the tales of honor and justice, about quests and feuds, about challenges and combat. Although it is unspoken as a single concept, they learn the golden rule.
Klingons take what they are told at face value. Klingons expect the truth and are ruthless when they do not receive it. This does not just include truth and lying, it expands to cover honor and dishonor. A Klingon will tell the truth because he expects the truth and will treat one with honor because he expects honor. If this is not the golden rule in action then what is?
Humans are a forgiving lot. You can smite them on the one cheek and they will offer you the other. Smite a Klingon on the cheek and you will lose your own and possibly your head in the process. This is also true of conversation. Lie to a Klingon and be forever dishonored. The dishonored have no expectation under the golden rule. Lie once and you will never deserve the truth again! This above all is the meaning of the Klingon proverb: Speak wisely or do not speak at all.
As a Klingon, each action you make, including speaking, holds a great prize in the balance. Your reputation, your life, your very being is at stake with every word or deed. Remember the lessons which you learned as a child and you will do well. Perhaps the aforementioned proverb could be expanded thus: Act wisely or do not act at all. The foremost Klingon wisdom is that of honor, therefore a further extension: Act honorably or do not act at all. Is this different from do unto others as you would have them do unto you?
Each of us must find our own honor in this life. We must not forsake the honor of our most noble Klingon race. From the time we are small until the end of this existence we are surrounded by honor and the possible consequences of dishonor, whether we, as do the humans, call it the golden rule or not. The message is the same. It is the law that we live by, lest we debase ourselves to the level of the very beasts upon our table. Filthy and unknowing, we would lose all, even our language, without which we are nothing.