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Make a Difference

Make a Difference: Plan to Celebrate Some Minor Holidays in 2017 (part 1)

Pi Day is a minor holiday
What if you sold pies on Pi Day to raise money for a good cause?

If you’re a person who enjoys celebrations, particularly “alternative celebrations” that go beyond commercially promoted holiday activities, this post is for you. As you make plans for 2017, consider celebrating minor holidays in new ways and adding new holidays to your calendar. Today I’m proposing six suggestions for alternative celebrations through June. Next week I’ll cover the rest of the year with six more ideas.

January 16, Martin Luther King Day

For many Americans this is a cherished day off. We’re still a bit exhausted from the stretch of holiday celebrations that start on Thanksgiving and continue through New Year’s Day, and even if we had a week or so off around Christmas, we find it hard to get back into the swing of “ordinary life” in January. Like many people, I tend to give into the temptation to use MLK Day as a day to get things done outside of work or simply a day of play. But there are mindful ways to celebrate, which can help change our hearts… and the world.

February 4 and 5, Souper Bowl of Caring

Started by a Columbia, South Carolina, church youth group in 1990, Souper Bowl of Caring encourages people, particularly youth, to devote Super Bowl weekend to service (on Saturday) and giving (on Sunday). You can check out the official Souper Bowl of Caring website to see if you can join a service project and contribute to a collection in your area, or you can just arrange to serve at and give to nonprofits of your choice.

March 14, Pi Day

I’m all for eating pie on Pi Day, but I really like an idea on the We Are Teachers website: Use Pi Day to raise money for charity, either by selling slices of pie for $3.14 each or by raffling off the chance to throw a whipped cream pie at a volunteer. The fundraiser they suggest is for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, which is certainly a worthy cause, but I’d like to suggest that the money raised be used to help fund a math scholarship instead.

April 22, Earth Day

First celebrated in 1970, Earth Day is a day to focus on the environment. There are countless ways to observe it, among them:

  • Commit to one small change in your life that will make a positive difference, such as composting, driving less, or eating more meatless meals.
  • Volunteer for an environmentally focused project.
  • Pick an important environmental issue (the Natural Resources Defense Council suggests some on their “Get Involved” page) and call elected officials about it.
  • Take a kid — your own, a niece or nephew, or a child you’re mentoring — to a state park and share your love of nature with them.

May 1, May Day

As well as being International Workers’ Day, May 1 is a spring holiday with pagan origins that is celebrated under different names, including Beltane. From that holiday came the tradition of leaving May baskets for friends and loved ones to discover. When I was a kid, May baskets were a big deal to me. I made the baskets out of paper cones, and on at least one occasion I used a plastic berry basket. I always filled the baskets with flowers from our yard, which could be a challenge; I remember that when I lived in the D.C. area, it seemed like some years many flowers were already done blooming when May Day rolled around. When leaving a May basket for someone, the object is secrecy, so I’d sneak up to the target’s door, put down the basket, ring the bell, and then run and hide.

I asked my mom if she was the one who encouraged us to make May baskets, and she didn’t remember doing that. She believes my sister and I read about it somewhere. However I first got involved, the May basket tradition was something I cherished, and I carried it on with my own child for a while when she was young.

The practice of leaving May baskets has largely died out, but there are people calling for its revival. I’ll add my voice to the chorus. A simple basket of flowers can bring so much joy that it seems a shame not to take the time and trouble to celebrate May Day in this way.

June 1, Dare Day

You can find celebrations for pretty much everything, including, apparently, a day on which to take on challenges. Why not use the day to dare yourself to do something meaningful? Speak up about something you believe in; donate time, money, or belongings in a way that stretches you; or make a change in your life that is challenging but that will make the world a better place. Think of something that makes a difference that you’ve never dared to do before and pick this day to do it!

Check out part two of this post.

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Something Wonderful

Something Wonderful: Slate’s Wonder Week

Stevie Wonder is the focus of Slate's Wonder Week
Photo by Alan Light

As I wrote in a previous post, I want to use the “something wonderful” series to introduce readers to things they may not know about. That means that, despite the fact that I think Stevie Wonder is a musical genius, I didn’t feel I could add him to my list of possible topics. But last week Slate gave the world a gift in the form of Wonder Week, which gives me an excuse to write about Wonder anyway.

Wonder Week was conceived after Prince’s death, when Slate staff members decided it would be good to pay tribute to a musical genius while he or she was still alive. Their pick was none other than Wonder, and I couldn’t be happier about their choice.

My own appreciation for Wonder blossomed only recently. I don’t remember a time when I didn’t know or enjoy his music. I even bought one of his albums when I was a teen. (I’d love to claim it was one of the ones from his classic period, but I’m afraid it was In Square Circle, which I bought because I was very into the schmaltzy song “Overjoyed.”) But I sort of took him for granted.

Then I experienced something akin to the rom-com trope where the protagonist realizes that they’ve been in love with their best friend all along. You know: All this time I’ve been chasing after X, and I’ve been taking you for granted! But you… you’ve always been there for me. How could I have been so blind? 

In Wonder’s case, I read an interview with someone — I can no longer remember who — in which that person proclaimed Wonder a musical genius, and I found myself thinking, “Of course.” I started checking his music out from the library and once again buying it for myself, this time paying more attention to his peak years than I had when I was a teen. I noticed things about his music and the way others responded to it. I was in a consignment shop when “My Cherie Amour” came on. Not one of us in the store remained unaffected. We sang or hummed along; we danced a little (even though it is not a particularly “dance-y” song). Another time Sting’s “Brand New Day” came on the radio, and I found myself thinking, “The harmonica player has to be Stevie Wonder,” because his playing was so distinctive. Wonder’s music had always been very present in my life, but suddenly I’d gone from just enjoying the music to being a fan.

So of course I was very excited when Slate unveiled their week-long tribute to Wonder. I learned that he is a great drummer, and I was introduced to the Black “Happy Birthday” Song and the story behind it. I reveled in an essay written in appreciation of Wonder’s “Fozzie Bear voice,” and I discovered that the type of harmonica he uses is one reason his playing is so distinctive. I came away with an even deeper appreciation for a musician I already greatly admire.

So, yes, I’m endorsing a man who doesn’t need my endorsement: Stevie Wonder. But whether you are one of his fans or just find yourself tapping your foot to his music without stopping to think about what an amazing musician he is, you’ll find Slate’s Wonder Week worth your while. You’ll come away with new insights, and if you aren’t already in love with him, this just might be the push you need.

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Make a Difference

Make a Difference: Have a Freezer Meal Ready

Soup is a great freezer meal.
Making soup? Freeze some to have on hand for someone who needs it.

Sometimes the greatest gift you can give is a meal. And sometimes the easiest way to do that is to have one ready in your freezer.

I first realized how valuable this sort of thing is when I was a new mom. About three months before my due date, I was placed on modified bed rest, which meant I was supposed to stay off my feet as much as possible. Later this was changed to strict bed rest. I couldn’t make and freeze meals as I had planned to do during my last trimester.

The baby came and so did a stream of helpful family members and friends. And then, four weeks after our child was born, the flow of out-of-town visitors stopped… but we still needed help. Our baby was waking up several times a night, typical of a one-month-old. My husband was working full-time but trying to move into a new career field, so one bad week I was alone for 12 hours each day from the time he left for work until the time he got home. I was tired and felt like I was constantly nursing. I became very familiar with fast-food drive-throughs. If someone had brought me a meal at that point, it would have been manna from heaven. The fact that that did not happen made me resolve to try to help others by bringing them meals when they were in need.

Frankly, having a freezer meal handy is a great way to help yourself on a hard day, and there is nothing wrong with that. But freezer meals are also useful to give to others. If you make and freeze meals when you have time, you’ll be prepared when you find out someone you know is in need.

And there are times when people might prefer to receive a freezer meal instead of something straight from your oven. Some years after our child was born, she was hospitalized for a couple of days. A friend of the family brought us a complete meal. It was incredibly thoughtful, but we were spending most of our time at the hospital with our child, so we didn’t eat the meal until after she was released. Because she was only in for a short period of time, that wasn’t a big deal, but it demonstrates why it’s a good idea to ask ahead of time if a family can use a meal. If they can, you could arrange to drop a fresh meal off at a certain time. Otherwise a frozen meal (or one that can be frozen) allows the recipient to take advantage of your thoughtfulness when they most need it.

I wish I could tell you that, given my experience as a young mother, I always have at least one meal ready to give away at any time. That’s not the case. But I have gifted different people with freezer meals over the years, and I plan to continue to do so as often as I am able.

The next time you cook something that can be frozen, consider doubling the meal, and then set aside half to give away to someone else. If the meal has been in your freezer for a while and no one you know has needed it, you can always enjoy it yourself. You also might want to set aside time to batch cook meals for your freezer or, if you can afford it, use the services of a meal-preparation business, and set aside some meals to share with others.

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Something Wonderful

Something Wonderful: Never Cry Wolf

Never Cry Wolf

While I’ve never done movie marketing, I feel strongly that this Disney trailer for Never Cry Wolf doesn’t sell the movie well.

So I guess it’s up to me to convince you that it’s worth your while to watch it.

I’ve considered this to be among my favorite films since I first saw it in the 1980s. Part of the attraction is the main character, Tyler, who reminds me a little of a favorite uncle… and a little of myself. There are those of us who will resonate with Tyler’s introverted thoughtfulness. He’s one of those people who quietly observes the world, “a watcher of things” as he calls himself. Anyone who has felt as if they were “always watching others do and feel things I wouldn’t or couldn’t do myself” will identify with Tyler.

But my love for the movie goes far beyond the main character. Never Cry Wolf is every bit as visually stunning as director Carroll Ballard’s first feature film, The Black Stallion. Viewers are treated to sweeping shots of the arctic wilderness and, of course, lots of footage of wolves. Mark Isham’s score is a perfect match for the cinematography; it’s a shame that there isn’t even a snippet of his music in the trailer. Fortunately, the composer has shared his score on SoundCloud. Listen to the second track to hear how he managed to musically capture the essence of wolves’ howls.

The trailer does capture a little of the humor in the movie, although there are far better scenes than Tyler throwing crates of toilet paper out of a plane in an attempt to lighten the load. The movie isn’t a comedy, but like the book on which it’s based, it contains several comic moments. Perhaps it’s best that Disney didn’t share some of the funnier scenes; it means they’ll surprise you.

According to IMDB, one of the movie’s taglines is “A true story.” The quibble I hear most often about both the movie and Farley Mowat’s book by the same name is that the story isn’t particularly true. In 1973, a decade after the book’s publication, Mowat wrote that “it is my practice never to allow facts to interfere with truth.” I understand what he means. Stories that are not factually accurate can convey the truth. Mowat also said that Never Cry Wolf had started as a satire about bureaucracy, but “the wolf took the book right out of my hands.” Still, because there are people who feel misled, I wish the book had been published as fiction.

Continuing scientific research has revealed that some of the things Mowat thought were true about wolves aren’t so. None of this changes the value of Never Cry Wolf in fostering a love of and appreciation for nature, including wolves. For this alone, the movie is worth watching.

Never Cry Wolf is easy to find. Disney offers it on demand, and you can also purchase the DVD, get it through Netflix or, perhaps, borrow it through your local library. Hunt it down and take the time to enjoy it. Like me, you may decide that it’s among your favorite movies.

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Make a Difference

Make a Difference: Participate in Red Sand Project

Red Sand Project Installation
My Second Installation for Red Sand Project

Red Sand Project was started by artist Molly Gochman to draw attention to slavery. It consists primarily of “sidewalk interventions” — art installations made by people who sign up to participate. When you register, you receive two bags of red sand, which can be used to fill sidewalk cracks. The sand is a reminder to people that, as Gochman puts it, “we can’t merely walk over the most marginalized people in our communities.” Participants are encouraged to take pictures of their installations and post them on social media using #redsandproject.

Because I am particularly concerned about human trafficking, I requested sand and created two installations — one near my workplace and one near my home. I wrote #redsandproject in chalk near my installations in order to encourage people to learn more on social media, and I posted photos of them on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. I felt odd while I was creating the installations; although no one approached me to ask what I was doing, and if they had done so, it would have been an opportunity to talk about slavery, I was worried that someone would confront me as if I were committing an act of vandalism. Still, I’m always happy for a chance to educate people about modern-day slavery, so I was glad to find another way to do this.

A larger scale part of the project is an installation in Houston, Texas, called “Border, US|MX.” It was initially a 2-foot wide, 300-foot long trench filled with red sand. It has since been built up into a three-foot high grass-covered earthwork.

Consider taking some time to learn more about the project and to request your own bags of sand. You’ll be joining people around the world who are working together to draw more attention to human trafficking.

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Something Wonderful

Something Wonderful: A Wrinkle in Time – When You Reach Me – Breadcrumbs

Picture of books

I love cultural “breadcrumbs” in books, movies, and music — those times when one thing gives a nod to something that came before it.  I’m not referring to epigraphs or cover songs or novels that retell a story through the eyes of another character, although all of these can be very enjoyable. I’m thinking of instances when, if you know the work to which another work is referring, you experience a little thrill of recognition… and if you don’t know the original, inspirational work but realize that a reference is being made to it, you might be inclined to seek it out.

One fun trail of these “breadcrumbs” occurs in three books by three different authors published over the course of 49 years: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle, When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead, and Breadcrumbs (yes, Breadcrumbs) by Anne Ursu. All three books involve a female protagonist who does not fit in. In all three, the protagonist is being raised by a mother who, if not actually a single parent, is parenting alone at the time of the action. And the first two books were Newbery Award winners.

I’m confident that most of my readers are familiar with A Wrinkle in Time, which was published in 1962. Even if you’ve never read it, you can certainly understand When You Reach Me and Breadcrumbs — both books stand on their own — but you’ll get more out of the books, particularly Stead’s, if you read A Wrinkle in Time first.

Published in 2009, When You Reach Me is set in New York City in the late 1970s. The main character, Miranda, is a sixth grader with one lifelong friend — a boy named Sal, who lives in her apartment building. The book weaves together the story of how Miranda copes when Sal stops talking to her with a mystery involving a series of anonymous notes that have been left for her.  A Wrinkle in Time figures heavily in the story — it is Miranda’s favorite book, and a boy named Marcus uses it to introduce the subject of time travel.

“Some people think it’s possible, you know,” Marcus mumbled.

“What?”

He pointed at my book. “Time travel. Some people think it’s possible. Except those ladies lied, at the beginning of the book.”

“What?”

“Those ladies in the book—Mrs. What, Mrs. Where, and Mrs. Who.”

“Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which,” I corrected him.

He shrugged.

Like When You Reach Me, the 2011 book Breadcrumbs is a tale of a fractured “best and only friends” relationship between the main character, Hazel Anderson, and the boy next door, Jack. Hazel’s name is surely no accident; the book is based somewhat loosely around Hans Christian Andersen’s story, The Snow Queen. Lots of other references show up in the book, including nods to some Andersen’s other fairy tales and to The Hobbit, the Harry Potter series, The Chronicles of Narnia, and, of course, A Wrinkle in Time. Ursu also alludes to When You Reach Me, though only once and not by name.

She opened up the new library book she’d brought for the bus ride and willed her thoughts to disappear in the page. The girl in it was reading A Wrinkle in Time. She was best friends with a boy who lived in the apartment below. And then one day the boy stopped talking to her.

As in Andersen’s fairy tale, Jack is taken by the Snow Queen, and Hazel sets out to save him. But when she enters the woods in pursuit of her friend, things turn dark. This is no delicate fairy tale, where the brave and beautiful heroine seems almost to float through the hardships she encounters, making friends all along the way. In fact, Hazel finds that, once she adventures into the woods, things don’t work at all the way she expected them to. The darkness of the tale reminds me a bit of Neil Gaiman (his Coraline is yet another book that Ursu references in her story), and when one character tells Hazel, “The woods does funny things to people,” I couldn’t help but think of Jennifer Roberson’s Karavans series.

With all of the references in Breadcrumbs, you could set up a year-long book club. But this week I’m going to suggest that you focus on the trail that leads from A Wrinkle in Time to When You Reach Me and, finally, to Breadcrumbs. You won’t regret it.

 

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Make a Difference

Make a Difference: Have Cash Handy… Just in Case

Keep some cash handy

 

“I don’t know if I’m going to eat today.”

I’d never expected someone I knew to utter those words, until a kid at church said that to me a few years ago.

I was taken aback. Fortunately, I knew someone who was close to the kid’s parents, so I mentioned the problem to him. I wanted to help, but at that moment, I only had $5 cash on hand — not enough to buy even one meal for the child’s family (well, maybe some packets of ramen). The man I knew said he’d take care of things, and later he let me know that the family would be okay, but I learned a lesson that day.

Always have cash on hand. Not just for your own sake but for the sake of others.

Since then, I’ve made a point of having $20 cash with me specifically to use on others. I keep it separate from any other money I might happen to have, so I don’t spend it accidentally.

$20 isn’t much, but with it you can:

  • Buy lunch for a family in need.
  • Give a generous tip to a busker or your barista.
  • Help someone on the street who asks you for money, if you feel comfortable giving them cash.
  • Drop money into a collection box for a charity you know.
  • Pay for the person ahead of you in a checkout line if they’re a little short. (Confession: The one time I did this, it was because I was in a hurry and was tired of waiting for the lady in front of me as she searched through her purse for change. Her sincere gratitude made me feel guilty about my motivation.)

Today, consider setting some money aside  — perhaps $20, or perhaps a little more or less than that — to use in those situations when you’d prefer to, or have to, give cash. It feels good when you encounter someone in need and are prepared to help.

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Something Wonderful

Something Wonderful: Rereading Books

I highly recommend re-reading books.

Being a list-maker and someone who prefers not to fly by the seat of her pants, I have a list of topics I might cover on my blog. As far as my “something wonderful” posts go, I want to cover books, music, movies, and other things that most of my readers may not have encountered. That means I plan to skip reviewing the stuff that everyone talks about, like the Netflix series “Stranger Things,” which is, indeed, wonderful… but you’ve already heard that from other sources, haven’t you?

Most of the things on my list are individual items (like Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat) or categories (like slow-burn sci-fi/fantasy romances). So far there has been only one concept on my list: rereading books. I wasn’t really sure, though, if I should bother to post about that. After all, rereading books isn’t that unusual, is it?

And then a friend of mine said to me, “I never reread books.” I decided I would go ahead with the post.

I have a book list that I will never finish. Right now it is more than 23 pages long, and I put books on the list at a faster rate than I remove them. It doesn’t help that I love to reread books, over and over again.

I do read most books only once, but there are many for which once is not enough. After all, if a book counts as “something wonderful,” why on earth wouldn’t I come back to it, particularly since I have a fairly poor memory for things that I don’t need to remember? Give me enough time, and I can safely reread a mystery, because I’ll have forgotten “who dunnit” and why.

Some books I’ve only reread once to date, like Dune, though I keep thinking it might be time to read it again. But many books I’ve read more than that. I’ve read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings four times each now, and I have no doubt that, given a long enough life, I’m not done rereading them.

Sometimes rereading a book is like visiting an old friend. Give me enough reads through a book like Emma and I will, despite my confessed poor memory for trivial details, remember a fair amount of what the book contains. I remember quite well how fussy Emma’s father is about the health of others and how he urges them to forego rich foods in favor of things like gruel, but I still love to curl up and read those passages again.

Sometimes I develop a new understanding of a character as I reread a book. The first time I read Jane Eyre, I simply saw Edward Rochester as a romantic hero. The second time I read it, I thought he was manipulative and even a little cruel. The third time I read it, I saw him as pitiful, doing the things he did because he was profoundly insecure. Each of these rereadings has given him a complexity of character that I wouldn’t have seen if I had stopped with my first reading.

Sometimes my rereadings deepen my appreciation for a book, particularly for really good children’s literature. I heartily agree with people like C.S. Lewis, who wrote: “A children’s story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children’s story in the slightest.” I think that we often rely on the children in our lives (our own children, nieces and nephews, or children we teach) as an excuse to read children’s books. But a really good children’s book needs no excuse and, indeed, if you haven’t reread a book like Winnie-the-Pooh since you were a child (or have never read it at all), you’re missing out.

For instance, when you were four and someone read Winnie-the-Pooh to you, you were probably amused, but some of the humor went right over your head, such as the statement that Piglet’s “grandfather had had two names in case he lost one—Trespassers after an uncle, and William after Trespassers.” I firmly believe that, while Winnie-the-Pooh is a wonderful book to read to little kids, you can’t fully appreciate it until you are an adult.

Likewise, children are entertained by the adventures of Rat, Mole, Mr. Toad, and Badger in The Wind in the Willows, but they tend to miss some of the lyricism in Kenneth Grahame’s writing. The chapter “The Piper at the Gates of Dawn” is so beautiful that musicians like Syd Barrett and Van Morrison have made references to it in album and song titles. Again, it wasn’t until I reached adulthood that I was profoundly moved by the religious awe expressed in that chapter.

Perhaps he would never have dared to raise his eyes, but that, though the piping was now hushed, the call and the summons seemed still dominant and imperious. He might not refuse, were Death himself waiting to strike him instantly, once he had looked with mortal eye on things rightly kept hidden. Trembling he obeyed, and raised his humble head; and then, in that utter clearness of the imminent dawn, while Nature, flushed with fullness of incredible colour, seemed to hold her breath for the event, he looked in the very eyes of the Friend and Helper; saw the backward sweep of the curved horns, gleaming in the growing daylight; saw the stern, hooked nose between the kindly eyes that were looking down on them humorously, while the bearded mouth broke into a half-smile at the corner; saw the rippling muscles on the arm that lay across the broad chest, the long supple hand still holding the pan-pipes only just fallen away from the parted lips; saw the splendid curves of the shaggy limbs disposed in majestic ease on the sward; saw, last of all, nestling between his very hooves, sleeping soundly in entire peace and contentment, the little, round, podgy, childish form of the baby otter. All this he saw, for one moment breathless and intense, vivid on the morning sky; and still, as he looked, he lived; and still, as he lived, he wondered.

“Rat!” he found breath to whisper, shaking. “Are you afraid?”

“Afraid?” murmured the Rat, his eyes shining with unutterable love. “Afraid! Of Him? O, never, never! And yet—and yet—O, Mole, I am afraid!”

When passages like that exist, how can you not reread a book?

This week, think of a book you read once and loved. Pick it up again. Maybe you’ll gain new insights on characters or a new appreciation for the book, or maybe you’ll just re-experience the pleasure that led you to love that book in the first place. Whatever you find between the covers, I hope you will join me in believing that rereading good books is one of life’s great pleasures.

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Make a Difference

Make a Difference: Get Off Your High Horse

Man on a horse
No need to dismount, sir. It’s a figure of speech.
CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=69328

 

I should begin this post by noting that this is not a Christian blog but, if you haven’t figured it out yet, it is a blog written by a Christian. I want my blog to be interesting and useful to anyone of any religious belief, or no belief at all. But, because it is central to my life, my own faith will sometimes come through in my posts. That is certainly the case with this one.

One very important way we can make a difference is by refraining from being judgmental. The problem is, it’s sometimes hard to know when we are being judgmental and when we are distinguishing between right and wrong. I believe there’s a difference.

Refraining from judgmentalism doesn’t mean accepting everything another person does without judgment. The female protagonist in The Bridges of Madison County may have asserted “If you love me, then you must love what I have done,” but that way leads to moral chaos. Love of others does not mean approval of all of their actions. I doubt any of my readers truly believe that, though. If you want to make a difference, you must believe that not all is right with the world. And while events like natural disasters can affect the well-being of others, you probably believe that at least some of the things that trouble you — things like slavery, pollution, poverty, or domestic abuse — are brought about in part or entirely by choices made by people.

As a Christian, I believe the story of the Pharisee and the tax collector in Luke 18 describes judgmentalism well. In a moment of prayer, the Pharisee thanks God that he is “not like other people — robbers, evildoers, adulterers — or even like this tax collector.” He also uses the moment to remind God of all the great things he has done. The tax collector, meanwhile, approaches God humbly, comparing himself to no one and asking God for mercy, because he knows he has done wrong.

A judgmental attitude has everything to do with how you compare yourself to others. While there is still room for distinguishing between right and wrong, people who refrain from being judgmental acknowledge that they are capable of error, that they are not God. Judgmentalism is all about being superior to others.

This can happen not only in areas related to moral issues but even to things like good taste — and perhaps a judgmental attitude is even more damning in this area, if only because the stakes are relatively low, and good taste is hard to define. I do believe that there is such a thing as good and bad art. But if I snigger at someone’s Precious Moments collection, I’m telling myself that I am better than that person, because I have better taste.

The problem is, even if you believe, as I do, that there is good and bad art, taste is subjective. And sometimes, we’re just in the mood for a little junk. Comedian Jim Gaffigan sums it up well in his McDonald’s skit (note: There’s a little swearing in this clip):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YDTfEhChgw

Getting off your high horse doesn’t mean giving up all concepts like right and wrong or artistry. It does mean placing yourself in a position of humility. If you come at a person with an air of superiority, all you’re going to do is alienate them. But if you come to that person as an equal who disagrees with them on a certain point, you can actually engage in a dialogue.

And if your point of disagreement is how your neighbors decorate their lawn for Christmas, just let it go. After all, you secretly read trashy fanfiction. As Jim Gaffigan says, “It’s all McDonald’s.”