With all the talk about cultural diversity and tolerance for others, it is sad to realize how few people really understand the concept of non-judgment, let along practice it themselves.

To understand non-judgment, we must start by examining its polar opposite: prejudice. This habit of dysfunctional analysis works by drawing lines and boxes around groups of people, based upon some observed or assumed trait – skin color, apparent age, city or country of origin, gender, native language, whatever. It then goes on to label everyone within that box as being the same, based upon a few real (or imagined) examples of individuals with the highlighted characteristics.

Those who attempt to become more “open-minded”, who try to claim tolerance for others who are different, usually condemn prejudice as being unethical, often attacking it with the zeal of the newly converted. But what is really frightening is that many of these advocates of tolerance often engage in just as much generalization and judgment as the hate-mongers they condemn.

Take, for example, a list of different cultures, created with the apparent intent to teach diversity and tolerance. Far too often, such a list is nothing more than just another set of boxes. While the labels may be more neutral or polite, the intent – and the result – is the same. Rather than promoting the concept of non-judgment, such a list just reinforces the assumption that everyone in a group acts the same, based solely upon similarities in point of origin or appearance.

True non-judgment requires being able to look at each person as an individual, rather than as examples of a particular race, age group, culture, or whatever. It requires being willing to accept that each person has their own unique thoughts and beliefs, and their own free will. And more than that, it requires us to honor and support those mindsets and beliefs – or at the very least, not try to change them, just because they happen to be different than what we choose to believe.

On the other hand, and contrary to what many new-age philosophers preach, non-judgment does not require throwing away our past experiences or our understanding of patterns and similarities. We don’t need to forget all the lessons we have learned. We only have to accept the fact that those past generalizations are of less importance than the uniqueness of each individual.

It is my prayer that some day, perhaps in the not too distant future, we – as a species – will make the commitment to throw away our cultural rulebooks, the catalogs of boxes and labels by which so many still operate. Some day, we may truly start to see those around us as individuals, without pre-judging them based upon appearance or social background. Maybe then, acceptance of diversity will mean more than just tolerating those who are different, and tolerance will mean more than just humoring those other perspectives until we can “bring them into the mainstream”.

Coranth Gryphon
August, 2002