The other day I was looking at various bits and pieces of information about presidential candidates, and I found myself swayed for or against them by the books and movies they listed as their favorites. Perhaps that is an odd way to judge a person, but as I reflected, I realized that I often judge people based on the books, movies, and music they enjoy, and I think that its at least partially valid.
Let me back up a little and qualify what I mean by the word "judge." I do not mean to imply here that I attempt to consign people to hell simply because of the books and movies they enjoy. I do mean that I think you can learn a lot about the personality and character of someone if you know on what they feed their mind.
Allow me to make my case. I may be mistaken in saying that this is common in human experience, but I personally tend to enjoy books that I can relate to in some way -- perhaps the sense of humor, the experiences, the human relationships, or the way of looking at the world. Basically, it would come down to some similarity in world view, or possibly a similarity of what my world view would be if I thought like the author or character. This is not to say that I don't enjoy or learn from books with a completely different world view from my own; it is to say, however, that those books generally don't become my favorites. As I briefly look over my mental list of favorite books, a few examples come to mind:
"Pride and Prejudice" - I enjoyed this one in a large part because I could relate to Lizzy. She and Darcy were both honorable, and though they both had faults, they came to recognize them and attempted to mend them.
C. S. Lewis - He is a master "supposer" -- "suppose that the God of the Bible were to be at work in a world slightly different from ours... how would that look?" In doing so he enables us to understand God better.
John Donne - I don't claim to understand all of his poetry, but there are a few poems of his that I really enjoy as I have experience some of the same things he speaks of -- "Batter my heart, three-personed God."
"Passion and Purity" - this book, when I first read it, really helped open my eyes to a more Biblical understanding of how marriage (and relationships before marriage) should work.
"Let the Nations be Glad" - as a person interested in missions, this book also helped open my eyes to the purpose for missions-- ultimately, God's glory.
Looking back over what I have written, most of those books have Biblical themes or Biblical reasoning in one form or the other, which fits well, as my world-view is founded on the Bible. I think I could make a similar case for movies or music. What you choose to read, or watch, or listen to, especially if it becomes a favorite, that becomes a part of you and reflects who you are or who you want to be.
Therefore, I will continue to analyze people (including political candidates) at least partly in light of their books, movies, music, etc. I will strive to be careful in this analysis, though! And, I will strive to read the books, watch the movies, and listen to the music that will help me to become the kind of person that I wouldn't be afraid to vote for if election was based solely on those things.
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