The Content of Their What?
I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. – Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
The word “judgmental,” in the sense of overly critical or self-righteous, dates only from the 1960s. For centuries, great writers expressed themselves without this word, but now we use it frequently. Why? What does this word reveal about our thinking? How does it affect our actions?
Specifically, how can we judge people by the content of their character, and at the same time believe it is wrong to be “judgmental”? I don’t think we can.
For two generations, we have been discarding criteria by which to judge a person’s character. We removed the Ten Commandments from schools and courthouses. We tossed out the Bible and all that goes with it. We threw away the rule book, so we are in no position to complain when someone breaks the rules.
What rules? He may have broken your rules, but he didn’t break his rules – and his rules are as valid as anyone’s, aren’t they?
But if by chance we still have a complaint, where do we direct it? We have done our best to remove God from public life. In addition to ripping up the rule book, we turned our backs on the Referee. Instead, we have a noisy cheering section that keeps chanting, “Don’t be judgmental – who are we to judge?” Who, indeed? After all, we’re not perfect, are we?
Leftist textbooks declare that American history is full of nasty, dishonest, violent actions, and lacking in constructive actions. Leftist professors claim that all ideas are of equal value, and that there is no objective truth. They go on to claim that all societies are of equal value, even those that practice slavery or oppress women and minorities. Our society isn’t perfect either, is it?
We have been taught not to judge other people or other cultures. We have been taught that there is no objective good or evil, or even objective truth. We have been taught to forgive everyone, no matter how terrible his crimes. Forgiveness that cheap is utterly worthless. So it has become impossible to judge the content of someone’s character.
Indeed, the very word “character” is disappearing from our vocabulary, except to indicate a fictional person in a movie, or an eccentric person – as in, “He’s a real character.”
But “character” in the sense of one’s moral core? When did you last hear the word used that way?The only times I recall is every four years, when Democrats slander the character of Republican candidates. Judging character has been demoted from an effective tool for evaluating the people around us to a political weapon for hitting opponents over the head.
Inflation of language is like inflation of the currency − eventually both become worthless. It is often said that words have consequences. Lack of words also has consequences.
If we can’t distinguish good people from bad ones, we are less likely to be good people.
If we can’t distinguish good societies from bad ones, we are less likely to produce a good society − or to keep it.
If we teach young people not to be “judgmental,” the time will come when they hear Dr. King’s words and ask, “The content of their what?”
Dr. Stolinsky writes on political and social issues. Contact: dstol@prodigy.net. You are welcome to publish or post these articles, provided that you cite the author and website.
www.stolinsky.com