I stumbled across a headline the other day about how some popular TV shows or movies from a decade ago are now cringe-worthy.

I read some of the article. It was about racism and politics and correctness and that sort of thing. According to this author, in a decade we’ve changed all out morals and we’re a whole lot better than we used to be.

I’ve often come across this holier-than-thou attitude that people have, as if the popular cultural morals of today are somehow superior. There are many people who like to make villains of anyone who does not agree with their moral propositions, even though those morals are very much rooted in the latest trends.

And this particularly applies to people looking at history, rewriting and criticizing people who lived in a different culture.

I’m not really old, and I have seen culture and morals drastically change in some circles–usually the outspoken ones who write essays and comments on the internet. But my own Christian values have not changed: I’m still trying to love my neighbor, be honest and kind, have some integrity, and build up my family.

I think there are a lot of people like that. Maybe most people. But that, unfortunately, isn’t great for headlines and trolling comments. It seems much more fashionable to jump on the latest train of shifting morals and then use that trend to criticize anyone and everyone very loudly.

People make mistakes. Some people don’t live a lifestyle you would support or agree with. But sometimes that’s none of our business.

It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. 

Theodore Roosevelt

Criticism is easy, but often it’s a waste of time and energy. Culture changes. People change. But what is true and right doesn’t change. Some may spend their time pointing out flaws in others and trying to rewrite life to fit into current trends–but I would rather hang on to what I know is good and to try to live it better in my life.