A friend of mine recently stated that I pass judgement. In specific we were discussing what I considered worthy endeavors. I’ve heard this before.
Given the way he phrased it, my initial reaction was that this is not a good thing. But. I don’t know the purpose of this observation.
If I take it seriously, it leaves me adrift.
And I think it’s a red herring.
There are worthy endeavors. It is important to recognize them. The moon shot was a worthy endeavor. As was eliminating poverty in America. A common element to these is the reach for something bigger and longer lasting than our short term gains. There are volumes written by theologians, philosophers, economists and political scientists on defining good projects. I am but an amateur youngster on the subject.
I need a hand gathering a bunch of business prospects. So. Yes. I will be making judgements.
And we all make them. All the time. We must make judgements to survive. Is that berry safe? Can I trust that contractor? Do I need to? Is that man good enough to be my president? If I leave for vacation tomorrow afternoon will I be stuck in rush hour? If I take that job, am I serving a greater good than just myself?
The difficulty isn’t that we make the judgements. It’s that we are ashamed, or limited or unprepared to make them. We have been taught that prejudice is bad. But how about post-judice? We have aspired to have complete information before making a momentous decision. Would you know what to with that information if you had it? And finally it is pointed out that we are making a judgment on something. Rather than asking, “yeah, so?” sometimes we recoil in horror like we’ve been caught in the act.
I have to make decisions to live. And that includes passing judgement on the worthiness and utility of various courses of action.
I’m off to spend a little time judging now. Today’s decision: bacon or yogurt?