Tuesday; August 15

What defines us? 

Have you ever made a mistake – something that was an exception rather than the rule?  Have you ever done something aberrant that was just out of character?  Of course, we all have.  How would if feel if a judgment was formed based upon these few moments of indiscretion?  We don’t want to be assessed merely by a moment of failure, we would much rather be viewed within the context of a lifetime of work.

It is easy to judge portions of our society based upon the exceptional circumstances.  Do we find ourselves afraid of other groups because of the voices or the actions of militants?  Do we assume that they speak for the masses or do we see them for what they are – a loud, disgruntled, self-serving minority?    While it may seem simpler to believe that everyone from a certain race, political party or religious group has the same mindset as a few radicals bent on causing trouble or spewing false values there is far more value found in sitting down and getting to know individuals as people.  Prejudice is not the exclusive property of any one type of people – it is held by anyone who is willing to “pre-judge” without all the facts.  It is allowing emotion (whether fear or hatred) to overcome reason. 

It is easy to pick out the worst of a particular group (race, gender, religion, occupation, political, etc.) and paint everyone in it with a rather broad brush, but when we do, we are unfair to those who don’t embody the evils of the minority.  When we are tempted to pre-judge let’s ask ourselves how we’d like to be judged – on our noble efforts or on our momentary failures? 

Most of society is willing to live in peace and support the efforts of others.  True, it is not everyone, but those who don’t are the exceptions and must be treated as such.  We can never tolerate evil, but we must be careful not to villainize others when they don’t deserve it.

Think About It!