Observe a powerfully built man. Average height, but weighing as much as most people much taller. Broad shoulders, easily able to pack on muscle mass, easily able to put on a beer belly if he gets sloppy.
Heavily muscled and thick legs lends its way to a high capacity for endurance and a high pain tolerance; indeed. Such a built man, with his low center of gravity, would be good to strap a heavy pack across his back and trek it across a mountain.
But he could not jump high.
It's indisputable and inarguable that someone with a low center of gravity, high mass, relatively under-developed fast-twitch muscles, etc, etc -- will never be excellent at jumping.
This does not make this sort of man a less worthwhile man. Nor does it make him more worthwhile. It is simply a fact.
Ah, we could talk about dreams and overcoming. He could, in fact, train himself to be better at jumping; everyone can get better at anything. If it was a determined quest for him, he could even get "pretty darn good."
And yet, there are people who can run, jump, and spring just by nature of their build. They would not be fit to strap half their bodyweight across their back and pack it across a mountain; they would not be fit to train and put on immense amounts of muscle mass; perhaps their ability to endure long and grueling journeys is much lower.
Yet, jumping -- it would come easily, springing and bounding, just by nature and build.
All of this is uncontroversial. None of it constitutes a value judgment. There are perhaps limited exceptions here and there, but this is all -- facts. These are just facts.
I was accidentally caught up in a semi-nationalist rally the other day. I was sitting at a bar that is normally quiet, when all of a sudden it exploded with action, packed full. And then, outside -- flags, music, crowds. Singing along. Pride and intensity.
None of the people in the crowd were processing critically; or at least, few of them were.
And it occurs that, perhaps as in jumping, some people have a lower capacity for moral thought.
We have quickly gone off the rails, have we not? We've got from indisputable -- we differ in physical attributes -- to something dangerous and horrible.
Most of us have, perhaps, enough capacity for moral thought. But look how closely the vast majority of people hew to their culture.
This rally, with its flags and music, it was all harmless. The country was a nice enough country. But teleport these people to... anywhere... and they would have followed the same course. They would have proudly followed any great liberator and champion. They would have proudly followed any tyrant or madman.
Were they raised in that culture.
The critical and judging faculty was turned off.
Could it be turned on? Yes. Should we strive to have others turn it on? Yes. Is the world, overall and at large, getting more critical and people becoming more ethically developed? ... ... ... probably.
To be critical ethically, you need to have abilities to step outside the group and the norms. Instead of embracing the soothing chants and symbols designed to capture your attention and identity, and battle-tested by cultural evolutionary pressures so that only the strongest of them thus compete -- you need to reject it. You need to stand apart, somewhat lonely, somewhat confused, somewhat horrified.
And I believe we have varying capacities to do that. Some people need the group more.
Is this bad? This is not bad.
It is tempting to judge that person. But we need those who support, care, embrace the norms, hold communities together. We cannot all be defiant, individualistic, the Wanderer over the Sea of Mist...
...we need consensus built, at times. We need ruffled feathers re-groomed, feelings repaired, a sense of community and belonging -- especially for those who need it.
The person who has less need for the group, is more naturally critical, judges more -- are they superior?
And the correct answer is this: "What is this 'superior'? These are just facts."
In all times, in all cultures, in all places, most people accept and become the status quo. A Japanese person raised in Tokyo tends to inherit the vast majority of a Japanese worldview. A second-generation Japanese person raised in New Haven, Connecticut tends to become an East Coast American a reliably very high percentage of the time.
None of this is good or bad. Observe the strongly built man who cannot jump. Observe the bounding and springing light man who struggles to pack heavy weight across his back. Observe the critical individual, apart from the group, horrified at the scene unfolding. Observe the people in the group who work hard, underpin society, perform vital work and services to keep society going -- and ask for little more than a decent life, an opportunity to spend time with friends and family, and some entertainment and comfort from the storms.
Lao Tzu was perhaps the greatest of all philosophers, and he points out that our judgments say nothing about the world; they reflect only on ourselves.
But he does not say that the wise do not judge -- simply that a sage will be aware of when making a judgment.
You can judge the person who hurts more when not around people; who needs to feel part of the group; who gets mildly uneasy when things get tense, but does not stand in defiance to the norm.
Judge them, if you must -- if the sense of superiority makes you feel good, or empowers you to do more. You, you with the developed critical faculty, you who can stand apart, your muscles leading you to more easily endure a heaviness of walking alone with a heavy burden... even as not all bodies can do all things, and even while failing to recognize that not all can equally endure this -- but can spring and jump, and leverage that lightness, and take some joy in that.