Category: Current Event

There’s nothing quite like a good protest. The zillion dollar question is what makes a protest good. Better yet, what’s the definition of “good”?

A good protest means the reasoning is clear, the demands are apposite, and the approach is nonviolent.

• Clear reasoning means the cause is just and evidence supports any claim of injustice or wrongdoing.

• Apposite demands mean what the protestors are asking for in regard to social or political change is apt in the circumstances that exist.

• And a nonviolent approach means the method is a peaceful pursuit, seeking understanding, recognizing as The King Center notes, that the aim is “to defeat injustice or evil, not people.”

Monday evening was the start of the Jewish holiday of Passover. And yet, note the Tuesday headlines, this one from AP, “Pro-Palestinian protests sweep US college campuses following mass arrests at Columbia.” There are protests across the country. They are largely anti-semitic. Jewish students were asked to leave Columbia University. Harvard closed their infamous Yard. A Jewish journalist at Yale was stabbed in the eye.

The activity begs the question: where’s the line between free expression and a safe and inclusive campus?

It’s not hard, friends; it’s the final piece of the good protest triad. It means the protest embraces a nonviolent approach.

According to The King Center, “Dr. King often said, he got his inspiration from Jesus Christ and his techniques from Mohandas K. Gandhi.” There exist six fundamental tenets of his nonviolent philosophy:

1. Nonviolence Is a Way of Life for Courageous People.
2. Nonviolence Seeks to Win Friendship and Understanding.
3. (As stated above…) Nonviolence Seeks to Defeat Injustice, or Evil, Not People.
4. Nonviolence Holds That Unearned, Voluntary Suffering for a Just Cause Can Educate and Transform People and Societies.
5. Nonviolence Chooses Love Instead of Hate. And…
6. Nonviolence Believes That the Universe Is on the Side of Justice.

I’m sorry to see the current hurt on the college campus. I’m sorrier still to see the hate.

Gleaning from the wisdom expressed above…

1. It takes zero courage to be violent.
2. When violent, one could care less if another really understands — and even less about any semblance of friendship.
3. How sad it is to see the enmity aimed at a specific people group. These protestors are being awful toward Jewish people.
4. They clearly haven’t read Dale Carnegie’s classic, “How to Win Friends & Influence People,” as what they are doing is not an effective way to transform people or society.
5. Violence chooses hate instead of love.
6. Violence creates more injustice. Injustice to address perceived injustice changes few hearts and minds. It makes fewer still want to be like those who hold said beliefs.

Let us thus be frank and clear about what’s really happening. These protestors are not simply “pro-Palestine” demonstrators. As highly-respected journalist Bari Weiss writes, they are people “openly celebrating” the terrorist group, Hamas, and also, “physically intimidating identifiably Jewish students.” Says Weiss:

“For a second, imagine that black students at Columbia were taunted: Go back to Africa. Or imagine that a gay student was surrounded by homophobic protesters and hit with a stick at Yale University. Or imagine if a campus imam told Muslim students that they ought to head home for Ramadan because campus public safety could not guarantee their security. There would be relentless fury from our media and condemnation from our politicians… This weekend at Columbia and Yale, student demonstrators did all of the above—only it was directed at Jews.”

Bottom line: these protests are clearly not good.

They are concerning and contemptible, too.

Respectfully…

AR

Amazing. Audacious. Awesome. Badass. Confident. Dominant. Elite. Explosive. Extraordinary. Fiery. Focused. Fun. Generational talent. Grounded. Historical. Humble. Impressive. Legendary. Mesmerizing. Must watch. Passionate. Popular. Powerful. Ready. Rock star. Smart. Transcendent. Tremendous. Unselfish. Wow.

And so is a simple splattering of the many words used to describe women’s basketball’s newest, biggest star, Caitlin Clark.

Clark leaves college as the NCAA Division I all-time leading scorer. Male or female. This past week she was the first pick in the 2024 WNBA draft. With a shooting range that is oft jaw-droppingly successful, Clark has captured the country’s attention. People are paying exponentially more attention to women’s basketball, which South Carolina coach Dawn Staley — one of the best in the business — says, “Caitlin Clark is the sole reason why viewership has shot through the roof for our game — the sole reason.” The public is noticing.

In their newfound attention, they have noticed far more than Clark’s fantabulous flair. One aspect that created quite a bit of commentary in the week that was, was the pay disparity between the male and female professional basketball leagues. Take note:

• The average four-year salary for the top draft picks for the NBA is $36.5 million (according to Spotrac). The average WNBA four-year salary for its top 2024 draft picks is $327,119. 
• Caitlin Clark, absent endorsements (which will indeed be sizable), will make $76,535 this summer. Comparatively, the NBA’s top pick, Victor Wembanyama, had a base salary of more than $12 million.

As the public noticed the disparity, a plentitude expressed their outrage, including whoever mans Pres. Biden’s X/Twitter account, saying “even if you’re the best, women are not paid their fair share.”

I had to chuckle. The Intramuralist has been a WNBA fan since its inception 28 years ago (go Fever!). The pay gap has always been present. In fact, roughly half the league’s 144 players supplement their income by playing overseas the rest of the year. Perceiving unfairness takes minimal effort.

So let’s make sure we’re comparing apples to apples, an always wise act when expressing emotion. A few facts that aid in providing context:

• The WNBA plays 40 regular season games. The NBA plays 82.
• The average WNBA game attendance last season was 6,615 fans. The average NBA attendance was 18,324.
• WNBA television viewership was up last year, averaging 505,000 viewers per regular season game. Last year’s NBA numbers were over 1.62 million.
• The WNBA generates $60 million in revenue. The NBA brings in $10 billion.
• The WNBA is subsidized by the NBA, which provides the women’s league over $15 million annually.

Friends, the WNBA is not profitable.

The NBA subsidizes the WNBA because the revenue gained via WNBA ticket sales, merch and broadcasting isn’t enough to independently sustain league operations. Their audience is significantly smaller; their fandom is smaller. In other words, the pay gap is based not on emotion but on economics. 

Some have suggested the female players just want the same percentage of revenue as NBA’ers receive, who net near 50%. The hurdle in that logic is that revenue must be gauged against profit, and if an organization isn’t profitable, it would be imprudent to apply the same revenue sharing strategies.

As said, the Intramuralist is a fan. And indeed, I am especially excited to see Caitlin Clark on the hardwood in Indiana this summer. I am also excited to see how her talents and resulting popularity transcend enthusiasm for women’s basketball. 

Magic, Bird and Michael. Kobe and Curry. And more. Each expanded the NBA audience. The bigger the audience, the larger the revenue. The larger the revenue, the more the profit potential. The more the profit, the bigger the players’ payout. The WNBA is not profitable. Yet.

My hope is as Caitlin Clark’s professional career takes shape — similar to what we witnessed in her final year of college — the audience increases, the profits are abundant, and women are paid more comparably to the men. That makes economic sense.

Respectfully…

AR

The scenarios…

A little less than a week ago, Iran attacked Israel. Iran said that in the weeks prior, Israel hit their consulate in Damascus, Syria. Seven military officials were killed. Note that Israel neither confirmed nor denied responsibility. Iran retaliated by sending over 300 missiles and drones into the Holy Land.

A little more than 6 months ago, the foreign terrorist organization Hamas assaulted Israel via land, air and sea, resulting in the death of more than 1,200 people, primarily Israeli citizens. Hamas also took more than 240 people hostage, half of whom are estimated to still be in captivity. Hamas said they were retaliating against Israel for their continued occupation, blockade of the Gaza Strip, violence against Palestinians and more.

Allow us a brief pause for definition purposes…

re·tal·i·a·tion | rəˌtalēˈāSH(ə)n | – noun

re·tal·i·ate | rəˈtalēˌāt | – verb

: to return like for like

especially : to get revenge

Notice, no less, how it’s not really “like for like.” Israel arguably kills 7. Iran justifies attempting to kill far more. Wonder how high the next numbers will go, for as we speak, there is little doubt that Israel is contemplating their next move.

So how does this end?

Or better yet…

Who stops first?

I think that’s one of the things that saddens me in a society that seemingly moves increasingly further from Judeo-Christian values. We continually justify retaliation. And we don’t really mean “retaliating.” We mean “making them pay.”

It’s not just in perceived acts of war. We see it in any oppositional arena. Tit for tat isn’t good enough. It’s got to be bigger. And more.

If our opponent is violent, we will be vicious.

If our opponent exaggerates or lies, we can lie even better.

And if they cheat, you bet we can cheat in more devious, slyer ways!

We justify a whole heck of a lot of foolish behavior.

A few years ago I read a fascinating piece from a guest author at West Point, who was a Lieutenant Colonel and expounding upon what he termed “the rhetoric of retaliation.” He spoke of what justifies (and doesn’t) the use of our nation’s military strength against enemies abroad. It was an insightful piece, acknowledging that the rhetoric of retaliation is a dangerous game to play.

One of his fundamental points is that our justification is “never totally free of bias, ambiguity, flawed premises, or unprovable assumptions.”

So let’s step outside those acts of war once more. Let’s step into other perceived oppositional arenas, forums where we feel there’s an “us” and a “them”… You’re either for me or against me… those others stand in my way… only one of us can be right and I’m %$&*#!! sure it’s me!

What bias has entered in?

What flawed premises?

What assumptions have I made that are unprovable?

… and what do I not know because retaliation has been my primary focus?

It’s an honest question.

Respectfully…

AR

Today was one of those days when I was prepared to hit “post” on today’s blog selection, that I just couldn’t. Something bigger, something more significant was ongoing.

Don’t get me wrong. We have lots to talk about on all sorts of topics, but today my strong sense is we would benefit from a brief, important pivot.

Last night Iran attacked Israel.

The specific onslaught is now over; however, as we all know from a war games mentality, there remains the sobering, quiet question of who stops first.

What does retaliation look like?

Is it bigger?

Is it more?

Israel reported that Iran had launched 170 drones — more than 30 cruise missiles and 120 ballistic missiles — in their direction.

Bigger and more is alarming indeed.

Hence, today is a day when the rest of the world needs to come together. But the problem is we aren’t good at that.

Way too many of us only root for part of our country. We find enormous fault in the parties and candidates we feel we lesser align with. And because we find such evil and error in them, we not only don’t support them, we root against them. We ensure they have no perceived personal wins so that no more support for them materializes. 

All one has to do is look at our collective behavior directed toward the two most recent presidents. Most are collectively awful to at least one of them. Sorry, friends… it is my clear conclusion — and this is a perspective shared by what I believe to be a muted but massive majority — that there are unique, but serious weaknesses and liabilities held by both Presidents Biden and Trump.

But lest we digress, here’s my point.

Today, praying the regional tensions can be diffused — and — the tension can be restricted to regional, Pres. Biden is calling a meeting of the Group of Seven advanced democracies “to coordinate a united diplomatic response to Iran’s brazen attack.”

We need Pres. Biden to lead well today… and tomorrow… regardless of how we ideologically or even emotionally align.

Lead well, Mr. President. You have my support.

My opinions and preferences are secondary to what you need to do.

Respectfully…

AR 

So since it’s one of my all-time favorite topics, allow me a bit more rumination… but also, as certainly almost always, allow us to apply the learning to far more than any sport, game or event of potentially perceived less significant meaning.

As the Purdue men’s basketball team walked off the court the other evening, showered by confetti intended to honor someone other than them, March’s madness came to an end at least in college basketball. Congrats to UConn’s Huskies, the dominant victor in 2024.

In an incredible season of their own, my esteemed alma mater came in second. Here’s what we learned, indeed transcending the sports world…

First, success comes in all sorts of packages. Sometimes I think we miss out on the superfluity of success in both self and others because we’ve too narrowed the definition of what success is and what it is not. Too often we’ve crafted a discernment barometer that measures outcome and accomplishment based on how we compare to someone else. And because we are not someone else, we are either lesser or more. I think our measurement of success is way too finite. 

Purdue did not win it all in 2024. But suffice it to say, of the other 350 schools that are full members of Division I basketball conferences, 349 of them wish they were in Purdue’s shoes today. What a great, fantastic, successful year. Success is not limited to a few.

Look, too, on the women’s side, which saw South Carolina again cut down the nets. Caitlin Clark’s Iowa, like Purdue, was the runner up. But Clark ends her season and college career not only as the NCAA Division I all-time leading scorer, but also as one who has generated unparalleled contemporary interest in women’s basketball. That, even as a runner up, is unquestionably successful.

The stories are more. Some with noted, lesser media attention. Successful nonetheless.

Second, to be concise, quoting one of the more iconic poets of our time (thank you, Taylor),  “The players gonna play, play, play, play, play, and the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate.” It is fascinating to me the plethora of people who create copious cause to loathe a player on the court. There’s just something about them we don’t like.

Something they’ve said… a way they reacted… maybe just the way they play. We don’t like it. It — they — are annoying. Hence we justify the hate. Let me just say this… For the far majority of athletes, and yes, I mean the far majority, we have very little proximity. We have incredibly limited perspective. And we are basing our self-crafted hatred on an incredibly small sample size.

I get not wanting someone to do well — especially if they’re on the other team — but hatred of a player typically says more about a lack of discernment in those who feel so emboldened to judge freely.

(For the record, while I am unaware of any current abhorrence, let me extend my sincerest apologies for previous behavior in my youth directed toward Indiana University, the Dukies, and any and all teams associated with Tom Brady. Yes, sorry… I’m wiser now.)

Third and lastly, no less, there is one more key learning from my beloved Boilermakers failure to win the coveted NCAA crown. Yes, that’s a tad on the dramatic side…

But it’s true. We failed. We did not achieve our ultimate goal. We were not the featured stars in the annual “One Shining Moment.” With the champagne chilling in anticipation of a more favorable end result, to say me and my family were disappointed is indeed a significant understatement. I was sad that we did not win.

But…

Just because I feel one emotion strongly doesn’t negate my ability to feel another emotion, potentially even more. Wow… I wish we would have won on Monday night! But… know what I feel even more deeply today? 

A deep, permeating sense of gratitude for a group of young men who played their hearts out, were respectful to those around them, and gave me more to celebrate in college basketball than ever before in my lifetime. That, my friends, is incredibly joyful. And nothing in the above or in the actual outcome changes how I feel.

There’s always so much to learn…

Far beyond the sports world.

Respectfully…

AR

The following is the best thing I read last month. It’s an op-ed by the “sane, hilarious voice” of Ben Kawaller, an L.A.-based writer and Free Press contributor who believes in good-faith debate and the importance of finding consensus in our polarized times. He is on a mission to understand our country’s division. 

He is wise. He is funny. Here is his mid-March contribution, entitled, “It’s Harder to Hate the Other Side When You Come Face to Face”:

* * * * *

I recently went to Mardi Gras and spent a couple days committing the ultimate faux pas: talking politics at a party. Knowing that in vino veritas—or at least, in vino ludicrum (thank you, Google Translate)—my plan was to ask people, in their inebriation, what they would change about America if they were in charge. I figured these interrogations would yield some insights into the collective psyche of a polarized nation.

The primary insight: what polarized nation? Polarized suggests a clustering around the extremes—and while I spoke to a few enthusiastically left- and right-wing partygoers, they were at least matched by people describing themselves as moderate, independent, or completely disengaged. And many of the partisans were lukewarm. One black gay guy described himself as ‘liberal. . . ish.’ When I guessed that one twentysomething boatyard worker from Maine leaned conservative he said, ‘Meh. Sure.’ One elderly black woman who loved Obama and JFK resisted the label liberal entirely, as did two local high school seniors, though they rejected the word conservative as well (‘I feel like that’s just so aggressive.’). When I asked another woman if she was conservative, she was stunned (though her reflexes seemed generally dulled). ‘I’m gay!’ she told me. Did that mean she was a liberal? “I don’t know,” she slurred, then added, ‘Your camerawoman’s kinda hot.’ This was hardly a population seething with pre–civil war rage. 

Perhaps that’s no shocker—this was a bacchanal, not a constitutional convention—but you would think that if we were on the brink of a ‘national divorce,’ at least someone would have said something like, ‘The problem is liberals,’ or ‘Everything would be great without Republicans.’ In fact, the overwhelming response to ‘How do we fix America?’ was a plea for greater kindness and less division. 

It was gratifying, as someone generally critical of the left’s culture wars, to see my own opinions so gloriously reflected by these people on the street. For instance, when I asked six self-identified liberals what the left gets wrong, two interviewees (both of them black) specifically cited ‘racism’ and ‘race-baiting.’ It was quite something, I thought, that in 2024 any African American should feel the need to remind his fellow liberals that ‘We’re all human.’

Other critiques were similar. ‘We can be sanctimonious,’ one liberal-leaning voter told me. Another leftist lamented the inability to ‘relate to each other as individuals.’ Another cited ‘cancel culture,’ suggesting that the left is too ‘inclusive’ of ‘over-thinkers.’ I would call them jerks. 

I got less self-critique from the right, but they’ve always been savvier at this kind of thing. If it’s self-flagellation you’re after, nothing beats Democrats.

Was I conducting a rigorous piece of political science? No, I was shooting the breeze with drunk people. But more serious adults have researched the psychology of our electorate, and their findings echo my own suspicions: that most Americans make up an ‘exhausted majority‘ whose views aren’t represented either by the orthodox left or the far right. The amplification of those extremes—and, I would argue, a craven kowtowing among the political right and the cultural left to each group’s most radical elements—gives an impression of a nation more ‘polarized’ than it actually is. 

My trip to New Orleans was the first in a series of stops I’ll be making around the country over 2024 to understand how people’s political identities (or lack thereof) are affected by this year’s face-off between two deeply unpopular heads of two increasingly unpopular parties. I hope to find out what real Americans actually think. And, as I have always thought of myself as a healer of nations, I hope to help bridge some of our supposed divides.

Or at least not make things any worse.

* * * * *

Ben will be making regular reports across the country for the Free Press this year. Looks like it will be wise to tune in.

Respectfully…

AR

What do we do with the bad stuff?

How do we handle the hard?

Allow me to slightly alter a recent response by an influential leader, with a live mic in front of him at a very public moment in time…

You have to sit in it. You have to take it. Sometimes when you sit in it, and you’re honest with yourselves and you take it, some great things can happen.

Let’s briefly examine the included components…

You have to sit in it… meaning you have to acknowledge reality. 

You have to take it… meaning you have to let yourself feel it; it doesn’t do any good nor is it healthy or effective to numb the pain.

And you have to be honest… meaning don’t paint a different story, don’t shift the blame onto someone else, and don’t play any sort of victim. You have to deal with it.

If you do that, some great things can happen.

The other simultaneous truth is that sitting in past hurt doesn’t preclude experiencing present joy.

Hence, we come to one of my favorite topics. And while some may not share the zeal nor extent of the specific fandom, it’s indeed true that there are so many places where the realities of life and the nature of sports mirror one another. It’s as if God set this world up to give us all sorts of creative ways to learn about ourselves, in one arena after another.

The above altered quote comes from none other than Matt Painter, head men’s basketball coach at Purdue. Noting the lack of universally shared zeal, allow me to quickly provide a bit of a Cliff Notes context…

Purdue has been very good for very many years. In fact, in the last 44 years, they’ve won precisely 958 games, 11 regular season conference titles, 2 league tournaments and have had only 5 losing seasons. Suffice it to say, they’ve been consistently great. In the regular season only. They haven’t been to the Final Four since 1980. They’ve faced multiple uncanny, untimely injuries, season-ending heartbreaks and losses to less prominent, double digit seeds… with last year, for the Purdue fan, being the dreaded worst. 

Believed to be a serious championship contender, they did the unthinkable, in a circumstance that had occurred only one time prior in the tournament. As a top 1-seed, they lost to a bottom 16-seed, to a team that barely made the tournament. In addition to rare and unthinkable, it was painful and hard.

So Coach had to lead these impressionable 18-22 year old men to face their hard. To “sit in it,” if you will. To sit in adversity. It happens to each of us, all of us, in far more than in any so-called game. The wisest in life learn to navigate the hard in a healthy way.

What a lesson. And what a lesson that transcends any sport.

On Sunday the Purdue men’s basketball team won their 33rd game of the season and punched their ticket to the 2024 NCAA Final Four, the first time since 1980.

The players, former players, alumni and fans experienced almost unspeakable, tremendous glee. The Atlantic called it “a cathartic win 44 years in the making.” Indeed. Wide support from college coaches across the country has been pouring in, for both Purdue and Painter, believing the latter is a great coach and an even better person, a humble man who does things the “right way”… Michigan State’s Tom Izzo, Gonzaga’s Mark Few, former Villanova coach Jay Wright. Tweeted, too, by longtime CBS analyst Seth Davis after Sunday’s win: “Could not be happier for Boiler Nation. Some of the most passionate, loyal and long suffering fans in all of sports. Your long wait is OVER…”

Don’t let me act as if everyone’s rooting for Purdue. Fans have teams they like — teams they don’t. That’s ok.

But the bigger lesson remains true. If we sit in the hard and deal with it in an honest, healthy way, some great things can happen… no matter what arena we play in.

Respectfully…

AR

What a fascinating day…

It’s Easter Sunday, a day of immense meaning for those who follow Jesus.

It’s the day history records as Jesus, having died two days prior via an unquestionably agonizing means — egged on by the aspersions and ardor of the amassed local audience — supernaturally walked out of his tomb. No other religious leader has made such a claim. 

There are numerous aspects providing evidential support, far more than the absent body, from the amazed disciples to the agreeing eyewitnesses to the angry authorities. For me, thinking especially of those disciples and eyewitnesses, I’m reminded of former special counsel to Pres. Richard Nixon, Chuck Colson, who was jailed for his Watergate crimes and would come to know more about Jesus in prison. Colson spoke of how when the Watergate scandal broke, he and 11 others — some of the most powerful persons in the world at the time — met immediately secretly, crafted a story, and swore to maintain it. But the men caved — almost instantaneously. As said by Colson:

“I know the resurrection is a fact, and Watergate proved it to me. How? Because 12 men testified they had seen Jesus raised from the dead, then they proclaimed that truth for 40 years, never once denying it. Everyone was beaten, tortured, stoned, and put in prison. They would not have endured that if it weren’t true. Watergate embroiled 12 of the most powerful men in the world—and they couldn’t keep a lie for three weeks. You’re telling me 12 apostles could keep a lie for 40 years? Absolutely impossible.”

But in addition to the evidential support, let me be very clear about what some may see as a fairly insignificant thing…

I am no one’s Holy Spirit.

It’s something I say a lot. So let me say it a different way…

It is not my job — nor even my ability — to convict another of what’s true.

Let me be even clearer…

I wholeheartedly believe in Jesus Christ. There is zero doubt in my mind that he is the foretold Messiah, Son of God, and lived and died for me. I have experienced him in countless ways, with his teaching, guidance and love making an unprecedented difference in my life. While still imperfect and always so this side of heaven, Jesus has changed the way I think in so many healthy, wise and uncanny ways. I have innumerable stories of how he has shown up in my life. I have no doubt it’s him. I realize now none of us are too insignificant for him to love, and his wisdom transcends death. My relationship with Jesus has hands down been absolutely the greatest producer of joy and peace in my life.

But…

There are two primary things Jesus asks of those who follow him. One, love God big time. Love him back with all your passion, prayer and intelligence. And two, love other people. Love them selflessly, meaning love them at least as much as yourself.

I’ll be honest. I think this is one of humanity’s biggest blunders, both in and out of organized religion, from both the faithful and the skeptic. We too often believe that it is our job to convict another of what we believe. Not only do we think it’s our job, we think we’re capable of it. And when the other person doesn’t adhere to our persuasion— sincere as it may be — we conclude that said person is lesser in some capacity.

Friends, when I believe it’s my responsibility to determine the conviction of another, I am missing the second half of what Jesus has most asked of me. To love another selflessly, that means I love them no matter where they are at — at similar or different places in belief or behavior than me.

It’s why at the Intramuralist we consistently advocate respect for absolutely all people. That is: all people.

So let me encourage you. Let me applaud your search to reflect and grow and be increasingly curious. Feel free to be where you are at. Also feel loved and respected in all things, wherever that may be.

Happy Easter, friends… what a fascinating, wonderful day.

Respectfully…

AR

Sometimes I sit down to pen a post and then all of a sudden I just can’t. I can’t go forward with my pre-thought-out idea. Something has happened that changes my perspective. Sometimes I don’t like that. But the reality is that most of the time when my perspective is changed, it’s for the better and wiser. Such is true today.

When I first began to ponder the content of today’s post, awakening to the early morning news, my first visual was a view of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, tragically collapsing in Baltimore, Maryland. I read the immediate, shortened accounts… of it happening around 1:30 in the morning… the cargo ship hitting the bridge… the bridge spanning the lower Patapsco River… and the rescue urgently underway, believing this to be a “mass casualty.”

It’s horrendous. It’s unfathomable. It makes me stop. 

Multiple people have lost or are in process of losing their lives as I write this. I know we all have hard stuff in our lives — stuff that’s hurtful, hard to deal with, things that have the potential to totally rattle us because we don’t want them to happen. But we aren’t those people who were on that bridge. We aren’t the people who were routinely coming or going to/fro work that night. We aren’t the families who were waiting at home nor the sleeping kids who awaited a final kiss on the forehead when their parent finally arrived. We weren’t part of the missing construction crew. And while I don’t believe in dismissing any individual via the comparison of suffering, it is still reality that we aren’t the people who all of a sudden most had to deal with the horror. The horror puts life in perspective.

We live in a broken world, friends — in a world that’s not as it should be. And I would respectfully argue that such is a feeling even the non-religious adherent are aware of. There is too much death, disease and destruction… there is too much fighting and seeking of power over others… there is too much condescension and conceit. There is too much lesser than honoring God by learning to love all whom he created.

If we’re all created in the same image, it doesn’t matter any more or any less who it was on that bridge the other night…

… black, white, Latino, Asian… gay, straight, something else… old, young… Republican, Democrat… bright, disabled, rich, poor… it doesn’t matter.

Friends, we fight about too many things.

We justify too many fights.

We fight because we don’t understand. We don’t understand because we don’t sit with the different. We don’t sit with the different because it takes patience, time and a genuine willingness to hear the heart of others. That’s hard.

And we avoid the hard that’s constantly present in a broken world, acting instead as if the fight is necessary.

Friends, most of the time when we deem the fight to be necessary, it’s unfair to conclude the lack of virtue is solely with another person.

Sit with the one you do not understand. Be curious.

In current day, we routinely hear from many of those in the political realm who have no idea how someone can be a supporter of Donald Trump and all his accompanying, disrespectful bravado. We hear a surfeit of others aghast at those who turn a blind eye to Joe Biden’s lack of lucidity. We see the demonization continue downline… even in sporting events, of those who root differently, who feel differently. It’s sad to juxtapose sports and politics, but the reality is that in a broken world, we aren’t all that good at respecting those unlike us; we’re instantly opposed to the other team, whatever arena we enter. We thus judge others in what we don’t understand. And we aren’t taking the time to understand them.

Here’s a hard truth, friends. There are good people who support Donald Trump and Joe Biden. There are good people who sit on the other side of the sporting event, rooting for the other team. But when we aren’t patient, when we aren’t curious and when we don’t take the time, we will never realize that. Instead, we will justify the fight, further fueling the prevailing brokenness.

It’s Easter week. That’s hard to dismiss. It’s a week all about love, sacrifice, and suffering. And I want to ensure in that love, we learn to honor both the skeptic and the faithful, each of whom was created in God’s amazing image.

Some were on that bridge.

That makes me think.

That makes me think of how we treat one another.

That also makes me keenly aware of the broken world we live in.

Respectfully…

AR

A young man told me a story the other day. It was a sobering tale… deep, involved, lots of layers… ample emotion, too. There is zero doubt in me that he shared what he believed to be true. I’ll admit, it was a hard story to hear. I was grateful for his sharing, and especially, for his indisputable honesty. I learned much.

I then met soon another who had shared the experience with the young man. It was equally sobering… also deep, involved, lots of layers, emotion, etc. He, too, was no doubt sharing what he believed to be true. It was equally hard to hear. I indeed learned even more. And the two distinct angles, one from each person, when compared with one another, totally made sense together. It was clear how both were laced with sincerity and truth.

There was only one problem. 

They were two very different stories. Two disparate accounts of what happened as a part of the same, exact experience.

The reality is that like no doubt most days in life, two people were in the same place at the same time and walked away with two different impressions of what happened.

Hence, today’s zillion dollar question is fairly simple: can two different impressions both be true?

Can two people walk away from the same experience with contrasting reactions but neither be lying? Can both be sincere? And both be telling the truth?

We’ve heard such said about the so-called “6” on the sidewalk. One walks toward it from the right. He sees a “6.” Not only does he see it, he’s sure of it. He believes it’s a “6,” knows it’s a “6,” and he therefore confidently tells his friends honestly about the authentic “6” that he saw.

Another comes from the left. He clearly sees a “9.” There is no doubt it’s a “9.” He knows it’s a “9.” He’s seen it with his own two eyes; therefore nothing and no one could tell him otherwise. He, too, shares proudly with those in his presence. After all, there is zero question in his mind that he is sharing truth.

And here’s what makes it harder…

If I only heard the perspective of the “6” see-er, I would believe the “6.”

Same for the “9.” If I only hear from him, oh you bet; that’s what I believe.

Thus when I hear perspective from others regarding far more than an exemplary numerical sighting, the same principle applies. 

If we only hear a singular perspective, passionate and sincere as the sharer may be, there is a reasonable possibility that another angle could also be true. But if we never hear that angle, we will be unaware of what we do not know. We may even make some unknowingly wrong conclusions.

Hence, there is wisdom in restraint.

Way too often we feel way too free to fill in the blank. 

When there exist gaps in our knowledge, we fill in the gaps. We assume we can. We assume we know enough. We assume there is absolutely nothing wrong about it. As what else could it be?

We know enough… right?

And in said approach, we assume there’s only one right way to see the so-called “6” on the sidewalk. We will have forgotten that from another approach, if we’re willing to go there — to walk in the shoes of another, so-to-speak — a different, contrasting conclusion is equally as legitimate.

I admit, that’s not always easy. Not convenient either. It takes time, discernment and sometimes a willingness to hold the uncomfortable… especially when the emotion of another completely resonates with me. 

But it’s also often the only wise way forward…

It’s simply wisest to forgo the temptation to fill in any blank, luring as such may sincerely be.

Respectfully…

AR