“Judge a man by his questions rather than his answers.”—Voltaire
It is often said: “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” Unfortunately, we often judge without even seeing the cover. We judge by what others tell us—often people who haven’t seen the cover for themselves.
I regularly attend a Friday men’s group. The other day, a friend jokingly brought up the name of a rather controversial person—someone to whom I have a history with and affinity toward. He met no harm in his comment. In any other time and place, I might have enjoyed his humor. But, knowing the group—and especially certain individuals in the group—and their opinions of this person, my stomach knotted up, knowing what was to come. And come it did. One gentleman set off on a tirade against this person and wouldn’t stop. Now, I am fine with people having differing views. I have shared before that respectful discourse is the foundation of a liberal education. Being open to dissenting views is essential to growth. But—I have a huge problem with opinions that are uninformed and blatantly false. In the case of this group, most who might have an opinion—and especially the one who went off on this person—have never read any of this person’s writing nor have they heard him speak. In most cases, the information and opinions they have come from someone who, likewise, has never read any of this person’s writing or heard him speak. Thus, their opinions are unfounded and purely speculative.
We see the same formulation of opinion across our communities. “Fake news” has become a common phrase in recent years. Too many of us make the mistake of believing things we are told or see in the “news” without fact-checking. We judge people based upon the opinions of people who claim authority but have little to no basis upon which to comment. The “news” habitually runs stories without sufficient facts. We are fed a huge pile of manure and told that it smells like roses—and we believe it! We forget that the news programs are competing for ratings and advertising dollars. They want to keep us on the hook, so the stretch out coverage and to do so they bring in “experts” to discuss possible motives and what might have happened. They are clear that they speculating, but we don’t take the time to hear this and we jump to judgement.
We do the same with gossip. We talk as though we have the facts, but, in reality, we are passing on hearsay that has passed though countless people who have little to no concern for truth. Often it is benign and unintentional. I have passed on my share of memes and “news” stories that have proved to be false. After we get burned a couple of times, though, we should learn not to put our hand in the fire.
We need to ask questions before we come to any conclusions. We should seek truth and remember that “the truth will set (us) free”. Ironically, this controversial person to whom I refer is controversial because he dares to ask questions and pursue a deeper understanding of what many hold sacred. Personally, I will receive the person who questions me more readily than the one who will follow me blindly. With the former, I am likely led to a better place.
Carpe momento!
Image source: http://www.supersoul.tv/supersoul-100/soul-teachers/rob-bell