I’ve never been one to intrude on other people’s lives. I like to exist in parallel, only interfering when it actually matters. When it comes to strangers or acquaintances, I couldn’t care less about what they do. They lead their own lives and deal with their own struggles. Who am I to say anything.
However, we all reserve the right to judge. In these days, it’s wonderful that people have the freedom to make almost any choice they wish. However, it also seems that we are expected to be accepting of those choices. This shouldn’t be the case. People make bad choices–if not flat out wrong choices–all the time. Yes, you have the freedom to make those choices. Yes, it’s ultimately your decision to make. But, it’s also our freedom to judge. You don’t have to comply with what we think. After all, we could be the ones that are wrong. But, just because you made a choice doesn’t mean we don’t have a say.
Everyone is judging everyone and everything constantly. We view the world with a certain lens and a certain set of values. A lot of people do things that go against those values. And when they do, we judge. We live in an imperfect world where no one is perfect. After all, we violate our own morals from time to time. It’s human nature. In recent years, we’re asked not to judge. But, why not? People aren’t making fewer mistakes now than they did in the past. Why should we stop now?
In my experience, people are still just as judgemental as before. People may hide it, but they still view things in a critical lens. After all, we have to evaluate everything in our lives with some value system. Otherwise, how can we decide what deserves attention and what doesn’t? When you catch that super senior flirting with freshmen, go ahead and judge. When you see that girl from your school posting feet pics on OnlyFans, it’s fine to disapprove. A judgement is simply an opinion. An opinion that may be right or wrong. An opinion, usually without the full story. An opinion nonetheless.
We can always choose to be empathetic. Most of the time, people have reasons why they do things that you may frown upon. Whether it be from trauma, differences in upbringing, or simply a difference in values, you should always understand where people are coming from. At the same time, simply understanding doesn’t mean you approve. Someone reading their partners texts without permission because their ex cheated on them is understandable. However, that doesn’t make it right, nor is it the right solution. Recognizing this is a big deal because you’ll know when you should make judgement calls. More importantly, you can diagnose a problem by understanding.
When people say don’t judge, just don’t judge someone’s full character by a snapshot of behavior. They’re not perfect, and neither are you. But, you can and should judge people’s behavior, given enough context. Don’t let people you care about get away with something simply because it’s their choice. Even if it doesn’t harm you or anyone else, it may harm them. And its our responsibility to look after them.
Society always tends towards the progressive. After all, there are new ieas that the traditional elitists aren’t willing to explore. But, new ideas aren’t always good. People are welcome to make decisions in their lives. A crack down on personal choice is just tryannical. But, we don’t have to agree with people’s decisions. In some cases, we should oppose their decisions. Whether they choose to listen is up to them. But, we still reserve the right to judge.