It is true that context is everything. When someone puts up their hand in a class room they are either asking permission to go to the toilet or asking a question. If the same person was in a church they might be raising their hand the show that they agree with what the preacher is saying or that it resonates with them. The physical action of raising the hand is the same, but they mean very different things, because of the situation the person is in and the meaning of raising their hand in that place.
Sometimes raising ones hand is an act of standing up for what you believe in, by showing that you agree with something or you are voting for something. The point I am making is that as we go about our lives we often judge others based on the context in our own heads, and we often don’t try to see things from someone else’s perspective or how this would apply to the situation.
This is the route of the saying ‘walking in someone else’s shoes.’ You could say that there are as many points of view as there are people in the world, and they all mean something to those who hold each view. We should respect this, but that doesn’t mean we have to agree with them. We should, however, begin with respect and make the effort to try and understand someone else’s view on things before wading in with our own self righteous point of view.
The Fullfilment Project 