“Everyone’s got a story.”
– Feldt Grace, Mobile Suit Gundam 00
Season 1, Episode 24, “Endless Poem”

Feldt and her comrades have spent a long time together, both in conflict and when they’ve been relaxing, but somehow they’ve never learned of each others’ pasts. When they suddenly start sharing, Feldt is a little surprised and makes this observation as she sees her comrades in a new light.

It’s a universal truth, yet one which we tend to overlook far too often. We get caught up in our own lives, our own stories, and almost never consider or realize the significance of other people’s lives and stories. Somehow, we continually operate as if our story is the most important, and as if we know someone else’s story better than they do, all the better to judge them. But the truth of it is that we know less than we think, very little even of those close to us, and nothing at all of complete strangers. And when you get down to it, everyone has a story that is every bit as important as our own, as well as filled with things which would surprise us.

That’s one thing which Gundam 00 tries very hard to depict: the truth of everyone’s story, how little we understand of them, and how much we need to if we are to ever have peace.

In short, we must have an open mind when dealing with people, whether they’re our friends, or complete strangers, and especially when we find ourselves on opposite sides.

It is the tool of tyrants to teach their followers to dismiss any dissenting voice with labels and insults, to completely dehumanize each other at the slightest offense in order to justify being cruel to one another. It is foolish of us, in the extreme, to do so. That person who supports something which we oppose on moral grounds is is doing so for their own reasons, with a perspective that arises from their story, which we know nothing of. They have had their own hopes and dreams, their own pains and losses, their own upbringing and their own values. Who are we to judge them? No one. Just as they are no one to judge us.

No one can truly judge another without knowing their story.

Alas, judgment is one thing which humans love to do, no matter how abysmally dismal we are at it.