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Emily Hert
Mr.Jones
ENG 101-103
24 November, 2014

Judgment Day
Judgment has been a part of society for millions of years. We have fortunately grown, and
have found a way to judge less as a whole. However, it is still a major issue that plagues our
society and must be confronted. In the past, the more wealth you had, the more acceptable it was
to judge others. The king and the queen would get an abundance of food, which was shown in
their body sizes. They would get the best of the best simply because of their blood line. The poor
would be starved, fending for themselves and receiving nothing from others. Now, centuries
later, we are faced with the same issues. The wealthy tend to be unrightfully given many
privileges over the less fortunate. However, now it often has nothing to do with our blood line.
Now, while we do have the freedom to change ourselves and reach for our dreams, the task is far
from easy, and often times feels unattainable. We are constantly judging each other, causing the
opinions and thoughts of others to blur our own opinions and beliefs.
Is judgment something we are born with or taught? This is a question I find very hard to
answer, but is fascinating to ponder. Whether or not we are born with it, I cannot say. What I can
say is that we are most definitely taught to judge. Depending on your upbringing, some of us are
prone to be judgmental than others. Understandably, we must have some type of judgment for
our own protection. We are taught not to talk to strangers, but then how do we meet new people?
How do we teach children that judgment is important in certain situations so that they can defend

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themselves from danger, which is why the stranger danger rule is taught? As we grow, we still
must have some form of judgment in ourselves for protection. We must be careful of whom to
let into our homes and whom to show our weaknesses to until we truly know a person. We
cannot just let any old stranger into our homes or personal lives. We should not use personal
judgment as a reason to determine a persons beliefs, value, or self-worth. If a dirty faced man
with torn up clothes came up to you on the street you would automatically judge from his
appearance he is homeless, and probably wants money. What if he just needs somebody to talk
to? What if he served to protect our country and now lives with memories that we do not want to
hear? What if he has no one? What if just one of us could show him that there are other ways to
feel loved and accepted? We must act as each others teachers and help each other in order to
grow. We cant do that if we always judge people before getting to know them and/or their story.
We have the freedom to judge as much as we want because we have the freedom to think
as we please, and for the most part, say what we please. Some might think that once you know a
person, you have the right to judge. However, who determines when you really know a person?
Judgment by appearance should not be acceptable what so ever. Our goal should be to get to
know each other well enough to help that person. If you have decided you dont like somebody
because of how they act, or that their beliefs are different that your own, is no reason to look
down upon them. Looking down upon others for who they often leads to depression, self-harm,
and especially changing ones true self just to fit in with others idealism. If we see others judging,
we should understand their ignorance and try to teach them how judging can really affect others
in a negative way, and how much growth society would show if we all wanted the best for each
other, instead of judging because one is below us.

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It is proven that, multicultural experiences are positively linked to measures of moral

judgment and growth mindsets (Narvaez & Hill 43). Narvaez and Hill conducted an experiment
by giving subjects a multicultural experiences question are to examine the correlation between
multicultural experience to moral judgment, closed-mindedness, growth, and fixed mindsets.
Moral judgment is okay in most situations. This is the judgment we must have for protection, as
earlier stated. Moral judgment differentiates between what is right and wrong, which we have the
freedom to perceive what is right or wrong as what we want too. For example if a soldier shoots
an enemy to death one may say it is your duty. Others may say that a human is a human, and life
should be respected. Though moral judgment should not be used when ones idea of right is so
far off and unfair to others actions, that the end judgment is always that another is wrong. We
must always be open minded in order to grow. If we are not open minded we never learn from
others. Thus suggesting that we should not judge others by their cultures, and instead learn from
them Mixing of the cultures is how we share ideas and allow new inventions into our society.
Ones counterargument to being less judgmental is that we must be more judgmental. For
example, it is often seen that if one does not follow the same religious structure as another, the
other will be judged because they are living the wrong life style. Who is to say whether or not
one is living the right or wrong life style? I am concerned with why are they so concerned about
it anyway, especially if it doesnt affect them? Another counterargument could be that we have
the freedom to judge what and who we want. While I agree with this argument to a certain
extent, it is also easily flawed. Are we willing and open to judge ourselves the same way we
judge others. Judgments are just subconscious ways of letting out insecurities to better ourselves,
instead of bettering ourselves in a healthier way by simply fixing what we dont like, or learning
to accept our flaws and loving ourselves no matter what.

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Even if we do not agree with anothers thought does not mean we should judge their
entire being because of it. It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought
without accepting it (Aristotle). We judge most when people do not fit into the norm. This
skewed way of thinking has been constructed in or minds through what we see and read through
multimedia. Why do we value opinions and perfect images of people we have never met? We
should judge a person simply by their true agendas in life and whether they are good or bad. If
our personal opinion of someone is that they possess qualities that we judge as bad, we
shouldnt make fun of them or put them down. We should all feel comfortable with who we truly
are, and live our lives the way we want. The judgment must stop so that our society can grow and
live in a way that we can live freely and unharmed.

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Works Cited
Aristotle. "Nicomachean Ethics." UKY. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Nov. 2014. <http://uky.edu>.
Narvaez, Darcia, and Patrick Hill. "The relation of multicultural experiences to moral judgement
and mindsets." Journal of Diversity in Higher Education. Vol. 3. N.p.: n.p., 2009. 43-55.
Literary Reference Center. Web. 23 Nov. 2014.