Should one judge a person by external appearances ?
What do you feel when a handsome gentleman or a beautiful lady passes by? Then how about a fat short person wearing a dirty shirt? You feel differently? Yes, most people do. It’s very common for people to judge a person by external appearance, because it’s easy and direct, and it’s instinctive. Appearance is a very important aspect of a person and reflects one’s personalities. Sometimes you can tell the person’s characteristics from his appearance. However, in most cases, you cannot tell exactly what the person is like just from the external appearance, and ethically, we should not judge a person just by one glance at his external appearance.
“Beauty and beast” and “Snow white and seven dwarves” are two stories that are almost known by everyone. Although there are fables, there are deep meanings inside them. What you can learn from them is that people that are not so good-looking can be very good people internally. And actually there are tons of examples in reality. Napoleon is a very short guy, but he was one of the most famous people in the history. Theodore Roosevelt, former US president during World War II, is handicapped; but he is one of the most successful presidents in American history. So how can you tell about the people from their external appearance?
Moreover, there are other undeniable facts that show that a beautiful person may be rotten inside. There are many prostitutes on the busy streets. It’s obviously that they are very beautiful, but are they really righteous people? A beautiful appearance is a good thing, but a righteous heart is more valuable. Finally, as we can see, it’s out of question that we should not judge people just from their external appearance. The most important standard is their internal personality.
