It's easy to compare cars based on different objective points. Which car has better gas mileage? Which car has better safety ratings? Which car has the extra features that I want? We, as humans, are constantly comparing. That car is better than that one because... that shirt is nicer than that one because...they have the best chocolate chip cookies because...
But what about people? How do people compare other people? We can compare and be compared by our hair, makeup, body shape, fashion, personality, character, and countless other things. But none of those are objective. All of those things that we use to compare human beings are all subjective.
I spend countless nights alone in my apartment browsing social media and I am constantly seeing posts about people hanging out with their best friend or watching movies with their best friend or how they are so very thankful for their best friend. Do I get a little jealous? Yea, sure! But beyond all of that, I have decided that I don't ever want to call someone my best friend.
The definition of best is, "of the most excellent, effective, or desirable type or quality. That which is the most excellent, outstanding, or desirable." Best implies favoritism. It implies a ranking, an order. It implies that something is above something else. When we call someone our 'best' friend, we are saying that you are my favorite and you surpass all of my other friends. By saying someone is our 'best' friend, we are ranking our friends and letting one come out on top.
When you rank things you compare them to each other and decide that one definitively comes out on top. When we rank our friends, we are comparing them to each other. By comparing, we are saying that someone else is not as good as another person. We are telling them they aren't good enough to be the 'best'.
By saying someone is our best friend we are saying someone else is not. We can't rank our friends. Sure, we can rank cars. But do we really have the authority to rank and compare people? For me, I have decided to never call someone my best friend. I wouldn't ever want someone to see that and think that they weren't good enough or that they didn't measure up to someone else. I know what that's like.... I have been ranked and judged and compared and I am constantly being told that I am not good enough. So, why would I ever want to inflict that kind of heart break onto someone else?
