In the media lately, we have been seeing a lot of criticism of people's appearance and behaviour.

Nobody seems to be quite right, teeth are not white enough, you're overweight or not buff enough. No matter what, something is missing. It seems like the media is trying to have people look almost impossible.

Many people think they need to act a certain way to be considered cool and in style.

The other day I was watching television. I switched on one of the many makeover show that now hog our airwaves, "Style by Jury".

There was a woman on who had "let herself go". She did not know that she was actually being filmed in the beginning. She thought she was auditioning for a show. She had no idea that she was chosen and that the show had already started.

She was talking to the host and explaining to him why her appearance was so poor. Little did she know, there were people hiding in a room behind her.

They were all judging her appearance with brutal remarks. They were picking out every possible flaw they could find.

She was soon surprised with the news that she was not auditioning but that she was actually in the middle one.

As if that was not enough, she then learnt that people she had never met before were secretly pointing out her blemishes.

Next, she and the host watched a recording of what the people had to say about her physical appearance. Complete humiliation.

A person might ask that since the lady gets to look great at the end of her makeover, what is the harm in some constructive criticism?

I believe it goes over the line of constructive criticism because the woman was being pulled to shreds. Wouldn't she still remember the pain of hearing those ruthless comments about how she looked?

I feel there is probably tremendous hurt that occurs during these experiences which take a long time to heal, even after her "look" has improved.

Some people might say, "well life is unfair and people are mean and what does not kill us makes us stronger."

All these things may be true but does it mean that we have to make our lives harder by judging one another twenty four hours a day and seven days a week?

Is it possible to be more accepting of one another? I always thought it was what was on the inside that counts.

I truly find it sad that what many of us were taught in school is ignored so often. Judging a book by its cover is all we ever see on the media.

When did it become OK and perfectly justified to be disgustingly cruel to people? It is wrong to be critical and harsh.

It is not a nice trait or something to be proud of but it seems to be how people act these days.

Is it all the elimination shows that we are watching and the magazines we read?

Most people are giving in to the latest craze of constantly being caught up in celebrities' lives which have nothing to do with anyone but the celebrities.

An example of this would be the Tiger Woods scandal. We do not need to know everything about his personal life.

Yes, he did something terribly wrong but people are far from perfect. Now we all have opinions about him that maybe a few years ago would have never come up because we did not know every little event or detail that happened in his life.

Now the emphasis is more about being perfect than being the best person we can be. It is time we start judging ourselves before we go judging others.

Instead of using lies and trickery like in "Style by Jury", people can try to be gentle. That is what makes people feel better.

Pretending makes it hard to trust a person which creates an uneasy feeling.

This year how would it be if we all tried to be as genuine as possible because that is what makes a better place especially as we plan for a New Year.