Pass Not Judgment

So I've been thinking a lot about how readily our culture makes sport of judging other people. With all the reality shows and websites that have cropped up, it's really become second nature to ridicule those around us. Peopleofwalmart.com is a prime example, because it is so damn easy to laugh. SO DAMN EASY. And here's where the challenge comes in, especially for all you people doing NaNoWriMo this year. Every time you're out in public or watching tv or surfing the internet, become aware of how you judge people based on their looks or actions. Is it a super skinny girl in revealing clothing? A large family of non-white origin speaking in their native tongue? An old woman with her lipstick astray and her pants hiked up to her navel? A guy with a muscle tee in a jacked-up truck? Become aware. Why do you look down on them? What right have you to assume they are ignorant or crazy or a redneck? As you create characters for NaNo, think of how their childhoods and life experiences shaped them, and then turn around and apply that in reverse to the world around you. That overweight woman in the lime green leopard spandex was once a little girl with dreams. Maybe she wanted to be an astronaut, but her family and her teachers and her classmates told her she was too fat and too dumb, and eventually, she believed it. As the Doctor once put it, "Be the best of humanity." I challenge you not to pity, but to try and understand. The more you can show compassion without bias, the happier you will be, and the more beautiful the world will become.