Why do we judge?

What is judgement? I feel that most people consider judgement to be critical or hateful; that no good can come from being judged. Taking this into social context, judgement is a word that seems to have a very negative light. When people are judged by their actions, they get defensive. When people get judged for how they look, talk, or act, some take it personally- that's called bullying.

Observation... Is it any different from judgement? You look/read, digest the information, then make a conclusion based on the given information. This process is used a lot inside school buildings for science and other basic subjects, but how does this come into play in social situations? We as humans tend to make judgements based on how people act, talk, and look on the outside. Once we get a feel for a person and how they interact with us, we then decide whether or not we like this person. We remember their face and from there we decide whether or not to keep hanging out with them. This process of judgement has been around for years. Do I wish it existed? It's hard to say. We could go without being so observant of other people's behaviors and just focus more on social chemistry, but I feel that that just isn't enough to determine compatibility between humans. We always have to know what the other person likes or doesn't like. We want to know their opinions on the most relevant topics in today's society. We want to know who they are through actions and what they would do in made-up scenarios. All these questions we ask each other help us to judge who they are and what kind of personality they have.

Now back to the subject of critical judgement. I personally feel that critical judgement is used a lot these days, especially when someone makes a mistake or breaks a promise. Anything that falls under the category of being human is judged critically or unfairly. People are so quick to react when someone does something that's out of character. And while I understand that being a person of good character is important, I feel that we also need to realize that NO HUMAN IS WITHOUT FLAWS. When we are deceived or betrayed, we need to consider this: would we rather let our hurt feelings get in the way of this situation, or should we just see people for who they are, flaws and all?

Judgement is a slippery slope in today's society. Most people tend to overreact or burn the bridge too quickly instead of being sensible. That's probably one reason why a lot of relationships end. So remember what I said about people not  being without flaws. People make mistakes; it's part of human nature.