When the world ends, as it must, some critics will still gripe, the end did not come soon enough. There appears to be no limit to the critics. and who and what they criticize. It seems everyone is a critic. It seems everyone is critical of everything. It seems everyone is critical of everyone. Critics know perfect solutions. Critics know the ideal person. How else would critics know that everything and everyone is wrong and stupid. They must be comparing what and who they are criticizing to their own perfect grasp of everything and their own perception of who is ideal. How would they know that others are screwing up, unless they know how it should be? How would a critic know someone else is stupid unless they are smarter?
Many pundits blame the abundant hateful criticism for the deep divisions in our society. And there is some reason to believe that. The all-knowing algorithms tell us we attend to shaming and hate speech quicker and more often than any other communications. If we remain stuck in the same old, tiresome ruts of shame and hate speech the end of the world may come sooner than anyone wishes. It is time to change. We all need a different attitude. From here on in resolve not to listen to any critic of anything or anyone unless they first set out what would be perfect or who would be ideal. That way all wannabe critics will soon learn their solutions are not perfect; their ideal person does not exist. If all the critics, who are all of us, practice searching our minds for what is best to do or who can do it best, before panning a proposal or shaming a person we would soon appreciate the adage of “Don’t believe what you think.” And that is the mark of a mature and sensible critic.