For example, criticism of using animals for entertainment and sport such as bullfighting, which is also a cultural practice, would be seen as an attack on culture, even though it is merely criticized for animal cruelty. If all else fails, people who engage in the activity that is questioned, immediately feel defensive at the mere suggestion it is questionable and will pull out the "personal choice" card to try and silence the person who dares to challenge that social norm.
"Judging" is considered wrong, but let us look at what it really means when people say that one should not "judge". In an article titled "Don't Judge Me": Where We Went Wrong on focusoncampus.org, the author writes the following:
"The fact of the matter is, we have to judge...it is part of our human nature as creatures formed in the image and likeness of God. And because we live in a world of right and wrong, of good and evil, of morals and values, we can’t help but form judgments about our own actions and the actions of others. It’s part of having a formed conscience and a working intellect...
As human beings, we can’t not judge actions as having a moral quality. The fact of the matter is, when someone says, “Don’t judge me,” they might as well be saying, “Stop being a properly functioning rational creature!” And who wants to do that? The problem (and this is a BIG problem) is that that’s exactly what’s happening in our present culture of tolerance and moral relativism.
We’re so afraid of offending anyone that we’re forgetting how to tell right from wrong. We’ve bought into the culture of “don’t judge me,” the lie that to form any opinion, positive or negative, about the actions of another, is wrong. While we are never called to condemn or hate another person, we cannot throw all sense of moral judgment out the window because we’re afraid of coming across as intolerant.
...The man who says “don’t judge me” has most likely already judged himself – he has already recognized, at some level, the iniquity of his actions."
As human beings, we live by forming judgments, often involuntarily, on a day-to-day basis; both positive and negative. Those who are our friends are people we have judged favorably while those we avoid are those we have judged negatively. Most often, the positive judgments are welcomed, but the negative ones are condemned. If we do not question, judge and criticize our behaviors and current social norms, how do we progress as humankind for a better world? If we never do that, we would still have human slavery and women will not have the right to vote.
