"I'm O.K., but You're Not"

The writing “I’m O.K., but You’re Not”, by Robert Zoellner, proves a great point that people should not judge others’ actions without looking at their own flaws first. The main character is a smoker, who is sitting on the edge of the smoking section in a restaurant when an older couple sits down close by in the non-smoking section. The older man asks the main character to stop smoking, with a “holier than though” attitude. After the couple is done eating, they go out to the car where their two pedigree poodles are waiting. After the car door was opened, the dogs pooped and peed all over the restaurant lawn. The couple then sped off in their gas-guzzling Mercedes with a huge cloud of pollution rising in the air.

This judgmental behavior can be seen in a lot of situations today. Who is to say smoking is worse than polluting the air with your car or not cleaning up after your dog in a public place? I believe that many people have a double-standard and judge other people for things they also do to some extent. Everybody has things they can improve on or change to some extent. Instead of worrying about what other people are doing, people should just worry about themselves.

Arrogance and being judgmental will not get anybody far in life. If you are too busy saying how perfect you are and how imperfect those around you are, you will never improve yourself. Zoellner really expressed this well with the “righteous” couple judging him for smoking. They were too busy caught up in their judgmental lifestyle they failed to see, or even to care, about their own flaws.

Some people may think their lifestyle and habits make them superior to other people. However, who is to say what bad habits are worse than others? Couldn’t being judgmental about smoking be worse than the habit of smoking? Maybe the main problem in society is not smoking, drinking, or letting your dogs relieve themselves on public property, but instead judging others.

A biblical reference I thought of after reading this writing was from John. Jesus was brought a woman who was caught in the act of adultery. The scribes and Pharisees believed the just punishment was to have her stoned. To this, Jesus replied “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” Obviously, nobody threw a stone. Nobody is perfect, or even close. However, it seems today some people throw stones at everyone they pass.

Matthew 7:4 – “Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye’, and behold, the plank is in your own eye?” (Even though a million people already quoted this, I was proud of thinking of it so I am keeping it.)