Nesquik, arsenic: who are you to judge?
November 17, 2008
I found the title of this post floating around the Internet a few years ago. I hear the “who are you to judge” line so often that I thought I’d comment on it. I’m not just blowing off steam here, I think we really need to put some thought into this.
Who am I to judge? I’ll tell you who I am. I’m me. That’s who I am to judge! Look, I’ve got 24 hours a day to get through and want to make it out alive. This requires making a few judgments along the way, doesn’t it?
The Difference Between Things
The first step is to realize that there is a difference between things. Not all things are the same. What is the difference between Nesquik and arsenic? Well, for one thing, arsenic is not trademarked and Nesquik is. But there is an even more compelling difference. A couple scoops of Nesquik in your milk really tastes good. A little arsenic in your milk will kill you. That’s the difference.
Who are you?
We are all persons. Persons are effected by things. Persons make choices. Even though our decision making process is often quite shallow, we still have to do it. When we have a choice to make we weigh the possibilities.
Making a Judgment
Not to spoil the ending for you, but the process of deciding between two things is called making a judgment. We make judgments all the time. Should I walk or take the car? Eat in or take out? Drink arsenic or dri… wait a minute! Drink arsenic? Why would I do a thing like that? Drinking arsenic would kill me. Being dead would suck.
But still…
Okay, sure. I can make judgments concerning myself, but isn’t it a little difficult to judge other people? Actually it’s not that hard. We do it all the time. In fact, every time that we tell somebody that it is wrong to judge we are judging them. Right to their face! As persons, we are making a judgment and telling somebody that they are wrong.
A Judgment-less World
Judging people is uncomfortable (except when we do it without realizing it – like when we make the judgment that it is wrong to judge). When we tell people that it is wrong to judge we are refuting ourselves because we have to make a judgment in order to be able to say this.
But what if we all lived up to our “do not judge” attitudes. Do we really stop to think about this? What would the world look like if we stopped making judgments? “Hitler! Stop doing that! It’s wrong.” Ahh! But that’s judging. And who are you to judge? “I’m going to take you to court over this!” Well now, if courts don’t judge I don’t know who does. So shut down the courts because it is wrong to judge.
Try this one day; go through your whole day, from sun up to sun down, without making any judgments. Is this worth experimenting with?
But see, now I’ve forced you to make a judgment. And who are you to judge? You’re you!
Whenever you tell people not to judge you, you are inviting judgment. We are forced to evaluate your statement. You made us judge you. And that’s okay.
Stupid Batteries.
November 16, 2008
Let me recount a couple of events to you.
A few months ago I was downtown Toronto with a friend. We were in a part of town that was unfamiliar to me. The streets were narrow and the buildings towered above us on either side. How tall they were I cannot really say because we were so close to them that we could not see the tops. The sky was barely visible to us and shadows cast by the massive buildings covered almost everything. But suddenly we broke into a clearing and found ourselves in a massive concrete courtyard of sorts. Now we could see the buildings. They were massive; too many stories to count. They were all made of glass and their innards could be seen by all who passed by. As far as I could tell all the buildings housed banks and other financial institutions. I cannot even begin to guess how much this city block is worth or how much many pours in to those buildings every year. In some ways it felt like we passed through a great valley. In other ways it was a very creepy feeling. It was as if we entered a world in which nothing mattered except little pieces of paper and little round pieces of metal.
Well, that’s the first event. The second event happened just a day or two ago. I was sitting on the couch eating breakfast and watching T.V. A show ended and on came a World Vision program. The images of starving children were disturbing (come on I’m trying to eat), but I watched just long enough to remind myself that deep down inside I’m a really good person and it’s not my fault that they’re starving. You don’t even have to look very deep to see the good in me. Just look at the world around me. Life is pretty good. Anyway, then I picked up the remote to change the channel and for the first time in my life (and at a very critical moment I might add) the remote control failed me. Dead batteries. How could this have happened to me? I’m trying to eat my three course breakfast, the images of starving kids are making me feel guilty and my batteries die. Talk about bad timing. So there I was, siting on the couch with the T.V. more than three feet away (that’s like from you to the monitor and back). I sat there in a little bit of shock, just looking at the TV. Staring back at me were little kids and their moms who needed something to eat. And I got to thinking; what the hell is wrong with us? Seriously, what the hell? How could I just sit there?
What kind of human being can sit on his couch watching this stuff, too lazy to get up and change the channel? So I thought to myself, from this moment on I’m going to change. No more sitting back and doing nothing. I’m getting up, I’m defying laziness, I’m changing the channel. I will not let Laziness overcome me any more. For too long Sloth has been my friend. If I must get off the couch to change the channel then so be it. How dare I sit back and do nothing while bankers and lawyers work their butts off to build their financial empires? How dare I sit on my couch sweating and consuming while they work so hard to guide the world from their towers and perches that reach into the sky?
I will do something with my life. I will invest my money. I will make haste to multiply my fortunes. I will help the poor bankers one brick, yea, one pane of glass at a time. I will insure everything I own. I will even insure my insurance if I can. Gone are the days of doing nothing. I swear allegiance to loose change. For the price of a cup of coffee a day, at a compounded annual interest rate of two percent over prime, I will succeed. My life will have value. So will yours my friend.
Now to find some cheap batteries.
Born Frustrated – by Rancid
