judgmental is the new F word!!

For the last week I've been having an online discussion about judgmental people and personal moral choices on a very gracious person's blog, gracious because I might have lost patience by now if I were said person. For someone that's already had to write two papers for college regarding ethics, this conversation has been in my head even when I'm not having it. I think I have these strong feelings because I think that if we all lived our lives exactly like each other the whole world would be the same and how boring would that be? Very!! I keep telling myself to stop having the discussion as the other person doesn't seem to "get it" when it comes to my one and only point, it's ok to inquire or ask others why they do what they do or how they came to their decisions, but it's not ok to then say, oh heck that's total crap and wrong of you! Respect <---that word is highly forgotten. I don't necessarily want this person to be like me or like the person I am defending, but rather I want the person I'm discussing all of it with to realize my point, even if she disagrees. And it hasn't happened and my ethical and critical thinking mind just flat out doesn't get it.



It's ok if you're gay and I'm not. It's ok if you're highly religious and I am struggling with my own beliefs. It's ok if you eat with your hands because you were raised in your country to do so, even if I prefer using forks, knifes and spoons. It's ok if you own your home and do not have insurance and are willing to take the risks associated. It's ok if you don't wear your seatbelt. It's ok if you never go to college. It's ok if you drop out of college after one night. It's ok if you hate to read. It's ok if you have twenty kids because you simply want to, it's ok if you never have any. It's ok if you're married, living together not married, sleeping around, frigid. It's ok because you are making your own choices and living with their consequences.



Some of these things are absolutely not ok for my life and me. But it's ok if you are these things; it's even ok if you're not. Because you are you and you can choose what you want and so many of your choices do not affect me or my life and you have a right to live your life as you see fit provided you are not breaking any laws. It's ok with me if you are you and I am I. It's just not ok with me that when and if you do not understand me or agree with me or anyone else for that matter, that you are rude, not open to listening and are simply judgmental for no damn good reason. The kicker part of it is, I still respect you.



Judgmental is the new F word.