The Jury is Out

Everyone knows that being judgemental (unless, of course, you happen to be a judge) is wrong. Step into Jane's shoes. Slide your feet deep into them so that your toes line up with the indentations in the soles where Jane's toes have worn the fabric thin. They seem to fit quite nicely until you decide to run a marathon, when you realize that the shoes that Jane wears will never completely fit you the way they fit Jane. This is because you have never walked all of the roads that Jane has walked. And though you may have had similar experiences, you have never loved in the way that Jane loves, you have never hurt in the way that Jane hurts and you have never laughed Jane's laugh. And she has never been you. We all know this to be true on some level, and I know that I feel the terrible injustices of the world when Jane judges me. Yet we all continue to sit on a lofty steed and we continue to judge our friends. We judge our employers. We love to judge our housekeepers when they miss a spot under the table. Gossip is the bastard son of judgement. The unspoken phrase after every "do you believe it?" is "and I would NEVER do such a thing!" Having the knowledge that I am oh so much better than Jane because I wouldn't think of stooping to her level is such a delicious feeling that I just need to share it with 40 or 50 of my closest friends. And then when I turn around and commit a crime similar to Jane's, the circumstances, of course, seem so very different to me. But not to Jane and 40 or 50 of her closest friends who cannot believe what I have done. And the cycle continues.