Judgment

A piece of contemporary, popular advice warns us against being judgmental of others. On the surface, this seems to be a good thing. However, broad, sweeping generalizations raise a large, flapping, red flag in my mind. This popular saying sometimes triggers me to judge and ponder the concept of judgment, itself.

It seems that the jury is still out regarding the topic of judging others. Ancient wisdom states that it is easy to judge rightly after we see what evil comes from judging wrongly. We are eager to judge so as to avoid being judged ourselves. Also, gods, goddesses, and deities throughout history have been said to exercise the power of judgment.

I posit that judgment is engrained into our psyches. We must be able to discern friend from foe in order to survive. We also must teach ourselves how to be discerning so as to avoid deception and fraud. Despite pithy sayings to the contrary, we do judge books by their covers and people by their outward appearances. We later affirm or negate our initial judgment of others by their subsequent behavior and misbehavior.

To reserve judgment for later is generally a smart move in the social sense. Of course it’s wise to remain cautious during the first stages of friendship and romance. This is basic common sense and the right thing to do.

Recently, I encountered a distant cousin during a visit to the local Goodwill Store. She had a severe pulmonary illness similar to “walking pneumonia”. Her nose was stuffy and her voice was quite hoarse. The outdoor temperature was near zero Fahrenheit and she was not wearing a mask. Furthermore, the cousin had called into work for three consecutive sick days. Given the fact that she had also suffered a case of Covid last fall, she was taking a major risk to herself as well as exposing others to whatever bacterial or viral infection she currently has.

I was glad that I was wearing a mask and stood probably ten feet away from her during our brief conversation. I mentioned that it would be smart that she return home and get more rest. She said that was her plan, but she wanted to pick up a few things at WalMart first. I strongly advised her not to do that because of the risk that she could pick up some other type of infection in addition to the more than certain chance that she might spread her illness to others.

After the cousin left the store, I remained upset that she had been acting wrongly by going out on a very cold day while being severely ill. Naturally, I was judgmental. I didn’t want to get sick and I didn’t want the stores’ employees and patrons to come down with whatever illness the cousin was suffering from. I judged her actions to be a major infraction. It is important to note that I judged her decisions and behavior but not her as a person.

“Everybody feels like an outcast because the world is so large and every fingerprint is so vastly different from one another, and yet we have these standards and beliefs, and dogmatic systems of judgment and ranking, in almost all the societies of the world.”–Ezra Miller

Certainly, it is wrong-headed to judge people on account of their gender, race, sexual orientation, nationality, religious affiliation, or age. Haven’t we all been the target of someone else’s inaccurate judgment? Although we’re not supposed to feel slighted nor hurt by being judged, we do feel it deep inside, despite displays of outward denial. It is unwise to ignore insults because they are a signal of enmity. On the other hand, we don’t need to take such judgments to heart.

I’m not making an excuse for cart blanche judgment of others. I am stating that sometimes judgment is warranted and that in other cases it is not justified. The act of making judgments is nuanced. Initial “snap” judgments are often accurate indicators of character despite there being exceptions. Seemingly rational discernment is often colored by our emotions. This means we can further determine to do our level best to more accurately evaluate situations and people. This is a matter of using our best judgment to navigate through life.

To judge and to be judged are basic facts of life. These are further instances why mindfulness can serve our best interests and the interests of others. It is good practice to be aware of our own judgmentalism and that of others. Carefulness about judgment enables more wisdom in our lives.

Ciao

The Blue Jay of Happiness quotes the Ancient Roman historian and politician, Publius Cornelius Tacitus. “Reason and judgment are the qualities of a leader.”