I have a sign on my desk at work with a quote that I'm pretty sure is from Socrates, but I only know it from the bumbling American soccer coach Ted Lasso. It says Be Curious, not Judgmental. Now I know the Ted Lasso craze has been over just long enough for this perspective to feel a little bit outdated, but bear with me because every day I'm reminded just how important this perspective might be in a world that seems increasingly fueled by hate and dehumanization and fear.
October 11 was National Coming Out Day in America and I wonder how many queer people stay in the closet because they are afraid that if they were to truly be themselves, they'd only experience judgment and hatred, and not curiosity and acceptance?
How much of our current political mess is driven by a refusal to be curious, to be open to new ideas or new ways of working together? How many of our leaders are more interested in holding on to power and passing judgment than truly representing all their constituents, even those who might vote, think, or live differently from them?
Would we be able to bomb, invade, kill, or colonize our neighbors if we were truly curious not judgmental? If we're truly wanted to learn about the people across our borders and across the world, don't you think we'd find out those people were an awful lot like us with the same right to live and love and grow old in safety?
The world is too full of judgment and hate. But today I'll look at my sign and remember to be curious instead. And I hope you do too.
I'm Lynnea Erickson Laskowski and that's Ted Lasso's perspective.
