Judgment

 “Don’t be judgmental” is what popular opinion advises, but I judge that to be mistaken.  It’s good to make judgments.  (See?  I just did!)  

It’s not judgment which is the problem, but rather the actions one takes in response to those judgments.  It seems perfectly legitimate to make the reasonable determination that, say, world leaders who launch military attacks on sovereign nations are doing something awful, but that doesn’t mean you have to drop an atomic bomb on their heads.  

Similarly, I believe I’m justified in judging that a homemade beet salad with fresh feta cheese is better than a Swanson’s TV dinner; this doesn’t give me the right, however, to barge into the frozen food aisle at Safeway and destroy all the packages of Salisbury Steak I can get my hands on.

That said, I think there’s much to be said for withholding judgment to the degree that it’s possible in many, if not most, cases.  Instead of rushing immediately into one’s own personal Yelp review at every opportunity, how about simply observing without evaluating?  

When I listen to some new music or taste some new dish or read about the actions of some celebrity or politician how about not jumping immediately into “It Rocks!” or “It Sucks!” mode?  How about instead of thumbs up or thumbs down, I just go “Hmmm?”

To clarify, I’m not advocating this for everything.  The aforementioned military incursion, for instance, does merit an immediate injunction.  It’s just that the vast majority of things I could conceivably judge, from the performance of some professional athlete to the taste of the scrambled eggs at some local diner don’t necessarily call for my personal imprimatur (or lack thereof), so why offer it?

Of course, we live in a time in which everyone feels entitled to offer their perspective on everything.  (Case in point, yours truly and this.)

So maybe, to really distinguish oneself, the most unusual opinion would be no opinion at all.