In That Moment Before Judgment

He saw two people approaching,

Man and woman,

Both obese;

They looked so funny with their huge bodies

And ill-fitting clothes

As they waddled along.

And he felt so superior.

And then he was struck by the Gospel of the Moment.

 

There is a moment around which the world turns,

That moment when we first encounter our “other”

A moment so brief it defies measurement

A moment quickly swept away

By the onrush of judgment.

In that blink of time

Before judgment

There is no fear,

No like or hate

Good or bad

Right or wrong.

All there is

Is the “other”

The pure “other.”

 

There is a moment around which the world turns,

That moment when we first encounter our “other”

From the obese people we feel superior to

To the foreigners we fear

To the religious practices we disdain.

Capture that moment

Just before judgment,

For when that moment slips away

The world turns as it always has and always can

To judgment

To the good people and the bad ones

From mere disdain,

To conflict

To discrimination and bigotry,

And, at its worst, to oppression, slavery, death and destruction

Forever justified

By “good judgment”.

 

Capture the moment

Just before judgment.