intramuralist ™

[From Guest Writer #4 in our annual summer series…]

Picture this scene: You are on your way to work / the doctor’s office / church / your kid’s soccer match / a date / the airport / lunch and the person in front of you is driving at or just below the posted speed limit, which is 40 MPH.  The gall!  You are already running late because you overslept / you had trouble putting your dog in the crate / you had to change an unexpected diaper / you had to stop to put gas in your car / life.  I’m not sure about you, but for me, this plays out in my life on a weekly basis.

Every time I get into my car, I do my best to drive with intent and purpose.  I am typically focused on where I am going, the best route to get there, and the Estimated Time of Arrival, especially if I’m using the navigation app on my phone.  I’m in my own little galaxy jamming to my awesome 80s alternative rock playlist or I’m chatting with my son / daughter / wife about school / e-sports / scouts / soccer / chores / vacation / work / money / etc.  I’m engaged within the confines of my car and keenly aware of the traffic around me at the same time.  Full transparency: I am not, however, always in tune with the “things” in my world that might be impacting my mood and emotions.  Maybe there was a recent death or illness in the family, perhaps a friend is struggling with an addiction, my spouse and I just had a disagreement, I am worried about my kids, I am just hangry, or a million other things that impact each of us.

Often, I “vent” my frustration about the other drivers, such as someone on their phone that is slow to proceed through a stoplight and I am in jeopardy of missing the green light and then having to sit for an extra 75 seconds, by saying out loud “Come On People!”… as if my urging can be heard or will impact what they do or not do in front of me.  My family has become so accustomed to hearing this that every now and then my son will say it for me.  But what am I really saying?  Underneath it all, I’m saying that my time is more important than theirs or I am more courteous or that my driving is more effective.  This is nothing but simple pride.  OUCH!  This was a difficult pill for me to swallow the first time I really reflected on my attitude.

I consider myself an above-average, considerate, conscientious, observant driver.  I endeavor to do things like leave space for drivers entering from side streets, pulling forward if I see that it will make enough space for another car to be able to enter a turn lane or make a turn, moving out of the left lane if someone behind me wants to drive faster than I am, and always using my turn signal. Do I do all of these things 100% of the time… nope.  Maybe I’m a tad bit absent minded thinking about the new job my wife has been offered, or maybe I’m thinking about that “thing” that I need to do for work tomorrow, or maybe I’m just daydreaming of my retirement, or fill in the blank about anything else banging around in my subconscious.  

When I’m with my 15-year-old son, we often talk about how each person’s driving impacts the other drivers in the immediate area.  Over the past year he has blessed me with a few thoughts that have provided me with valuable perspective:  1) you never know what is going on inside of the other cars around you; 2) you never know what is going on inside of the head of the drivers around you; 3) not everyone is comfortable with how to navigate a roundabout.

Unfortunately, not all drivers are “good” drivers.  Perhaps they don’t understand the “rules of the interstate,” that slower traffic should vacate the left-most lane if there is space available.  Perhaps the driver has only been driving for a few months and is simply not as comfortable behind the wheel as I am after driving for 40 years.  Maybe the driver is distracted by a text message, on a Bluetooth phone call, or even holding the phone in their hand.  With all this in mind, even if you were the average driver, 50% of the other drivers around you are below average.

Have you ever heard of or read Stephen Covey’s book, Seven Habits of Highly Effective People?  One of the habits, “Seek first to understand, then to be understood,” encourages the practice of “assuming positive intent” when interacting with others.  What this boils down to is if you can choose between the negative or positive intent of someone else’s actions, defer to assuming that everyone has good intentions.  Oh… if I could only embrace that more readily while I am in my car… not to mention in my marriage / friendships / family / workplace.  This is easier to say than to execute simply because at our core we are all selfish… at least to some degree.

What if every time we got into our cars, we specifically concentrated on being polite?  What if we intentionally looked for opportunities to let someone change lanes / merge where there was not actually sufficient space to do so?  What if we treated other drivers as if we were having a face-to-face discussion?  (I know I am less likely to yell at someone standing in front of me.)  What if, instead of using hand gestures, we smiled and gave a friendly wave?  What if we extended grace to the driver who cut us off?  Does it matter whether it was intentional or not?  I suggest it does not.  I would also be willing to wager that my blood pressure goes down the more I concentrate on “being nice” to every other driver around me.  What could we gain if we took a few seconds to exercise empathy and compassion?

WHAT IF WE TRULY GAVE EVERYONE THE BENEFIT OF DOUBT?  EVERYWHERE!!!

Respectfully,

CA

P.S.A. For the benefit of everyone around you, please use your turn signals!

[From Guest Writer #3 in our annual summer series…]

After national disasters, our government will typically convene a commission to investigate what happened so that it doesn’t happen again. Think JFK assassination, Challenger explosion, September 11^th, etc. The COVID pandemic was an unmitigated disaster, so when are we going to do a post-mortem on the long list of things we got wrong? 

• Overestimating the death rate – The initial mortality rate provided by the World Health Organization in early 2020 was 3.4% (or 1 of 30 people who caught COVID died) which caused undue panic. However, the virus spread faster than anyone realized, as many infected persons were asymptomatic and thus undetected. As such, the actual death rate was closer to 0.2% (or 1 in 500). 
• Not differentiating by age – We did know early on that there was a vast difference in the COVID death rate based on age. Children were simply not at any risk greater than the common flu. There was a significant risk for the elderly, though, and yet places like New York state sent infected patients into nursing homes resulting in thousands of needless deaths. 
• Silencing opposing views – In October 2020, a group of epidemiologists and scientists published the Great Barrington Declaration calling for focused protection for the elderly and other vulnerable populations. The rest of us should resume life as normal. Government officials immediately conspired with social media companies and others to bury this story and discredit these respected professionals. 
• Pretending COVID could be eradicated – I still don’t understand why the shots were called vaccines. They were effective at lessening symptoms (and saving lives) in the case of infection. The “vaccines” did not prevent transmission. COVID is never going away. We will just have to manage it, similar to how we deal with the flu. 
• Ignoring natural immunity – Once you have COVID, you are protected against re-infection to a degree equal or greater to getting the shot. Nevertheless, companies across the country mandated that their employees get vaccinated. Workers were fired for no reason, as the vaccine offered no additional benefit for those who had already been infected. 
• Denying the possibility of a lab leak – Even comedian Jon Stewart famously knew in June 2021 that if a bat coronavirus emerged from city where a lab was known to be doing research on bat coronaviruses, odds were pretty good the lab was the source of the leak. It took the Department of Health and Human Services three years to agree as it recently cut off all federal grants to the nonprofit EcoHealth Alliance who had conducted gain-of-function research in Wuhan prior to 2020. (You read that right…your tax dollars may have funded the creation of COVID.) 
• Demonizing Ivermectin – When the FDA approves drugs, it tests for two things: safety and efficacy. Ivermectin is an anti-parasitic and has been taken routinely by humans since 1987. It is unquestionably safe. How effective it is at combating COVID is an open question as studies have shown varying results. Still, what is the harm in allowing doctors to prescribe it in case it does work?
• Making inflation worse – I’ve covered this topic on these pages before. Our COVID response was not the sole cause of rapidly increasing prices coming out of the pandemic, but it was a big contributor. The lockdowns killed our supply chain for all kinds of goods and services, and showering the country with stimulus checks devalued the dollar. 
• Putting the wrong people in charge – There is plenty of material out there cataloging the flaws of Anthony Fauci, so I don’t need to pile on. Deborah Birx was similarly unqualified to wield the power that she did. If you have a spare 25 minutes, this YouTube video is worth your time. 
• Contaminated vaccine production – When Pfizer and Moderna obtained regulatory approval for the mRNA vaccines, they used one manufacturing process. When they mass produced the vaccine that got put into our arms, they used a different manufacturing process. There is hard evidence that the second process led to contamination on a broad scale. This podcast explains this shocking finding in layman’s terms. 
• Adverse effects of the jab – Given these impurities, it is reasonable to postulate that the vaccine caused a variety of side effects. The link to myocarditis in rare cases is well established. More widespread fatal reactions have been alleged but not proven (nor disproven). Wouldn’t you think our government would want to find out the number of deaths caused by the vaccine itself?

Hindsight is 20/20. Early on, when we didn’t know what we were up against, it is understandable that our public health officials erred on the side of caution. What doesn’t make sense is after new information came to light, those experts and the political leaders they advised neglected to re-evaluate their assumptions and craft a new playbook.

When you don’t know the answer to something, the best answer is, “I don’t know.” Instead, the supposed experts wanted to reassure the public and provided advice based on educated guesses at best. Furthermore, there was pressure to do something to protect society, so directives were issued, some of which were a colossal waste of resources (contact tracing, masks, social distancing) and others (school closures) were downright destructive.

When the next public health emergency arises, those in positions of authority should communicate the known risks and let people make their own decisions about how to respond based on their life circumstances and risk tolerance. Trying to protect people from themselves rarely works out well.

Respectfully…

PJM

[From Guest Writer #2 in our annual summer series…]

It’s late July in 2023. Southern Indiana feels like a sweatshop in New York City at the turn of the 19th century. You can feel the intensity simmering just below the surface. Despite the heat and humidity, the possibilities and dreams of what could be becomes the driving force that pushes one golden-haired boy with the curly locks. He has just turned 16, and running has been a part of who he is since the day he was born. This boy, so full of determination and drive was walking by 9 months old and running by 9^1/₂ months and 1 day. If he wasn’t going longer, harder, faster or higher, then he wanted no part of whatever “it” was. So, what happens when the very thing he loves to do is put on hold? Let’s start at the beginning…. 

It’s spring of 2023, and track season is in full swing. Cross country coach Barnett has come to his runners and asked them to help implement a new program for the future. Of course the boys were all in; they would do anything for Coach “Barney.” The new program allows Coach to monitor the runners’ heart rates during workouts as well as resting periods. Those resting rate periods threw a wrench into our well-oiled machine of faster, harder, stronger, and higher. Coach Barnett began to notice that his golden haired runner with the curly mop was tracking very unusual heart rate activity for a normal cross-country runner.

Coach then talked with multiple peers to find out if they had ever come across something of this nature. The answer was always the same: a solid “No!” followed by a solid “You need to have him get it checked out.” Ironically, when Coach finally approached us about the matter, it was the same week our boys were to see our pediatrician for our yearly well checks. This, of course, became another step in the journey we never anticipated.

At the pediatrician’s visit we shared with the doc what the cross country coach had found and his resulting concern. The pediatrician was very quick to get the orders for a heart monitor. Before the end of that week, Aden was fitted for a heart monitor that he would wear for 48 hours. Even with the heart monitor on, we truly figured things would come back easy breezy, Cover Girl beautiful. Less than 24 hours later, however, after turning in the monitor, we learned Aden had to stop running immediately; they were setting us up to see a pediatric cardiologist at Norton’s Children’s Hospital.

August came, and we are scheduled to meet with Dr. Roddy McDowell. On the day we met with Dr. McDowell, he performed an ultrasound of Aden’s heart and told us immediately what he believed. He told us there were three issues he saw, but the biggest issue was most troubling. He believed we were looking at an anomalous origin of the left coronary artery in the right coronary sinus. Our first thought: What did you just say? We would quickly learn what it was he just said and what exactly that meant.

Anomalous origin of the left coronary artery of the right coronary sinus would soon become a normal phrase that would roll right off our lips. Long story short, it is classified as a congenital heart defect. Aden was born with this issue. It wasn’t caused by anything that we did or did not do as his parents. There were other facts we learned along the way. For example, most infants born with this condition pass away before their first birthday. If the defect occurs on the right side of the heart, it does not pose as great a danger as on the left, like Aden’s was. For those who have the defect on the left, if undetected, they will have a 75% chance of passing away before the age of 35.

With surgery set for October 12th, we quickly learned just how precious our support system would become. They held a fundraiser to bring awareness to Aden’s condition, created a meaningful meal train, prayed countless prayers on our behalf, and checked on us consistently. We saw firsthand that people truly do have good hearts and really do want to help. We were also reminded that family comes in many forms. Family isn’t just those in your bloodline; family is those in your heartline as well. We learned that immediately through all the blood work, tests, and scans.

Surgery day arrived on October 12th. We were up and at the hospital by 5am, and by 6am sharp our boy was being wheeled to the operating room.  There were so many emotions in those first moments as he disappeared behind the cold, metal doors. Through it all we knew that Jesus was in control and that not any of what was going on was taking Him by surprise. We just had to wait. And wait. Three hours in, Dr. Alsoufi’s nurse, Lisa, brought us the first update. She said that everything was moving along fine and that when the surgery was complete, Dr. Alsoufi himself would come to talk with us about how things went. The 5-6 hour mark came. Just as nurse Lisa said, Dr. Alsoufi came to meet with us. He told us that the surgery was complete and everything went smoothly. He also made a diagram for us to show what exactly he did to Aden’s heart. And in the words of my house-building husband, who looked at Dr. Alsoufi: “So basically you re-did the plumbing?” The theme throughout the discovery, tests, scans, and surgery always was this: “It’s amazing that there were no other symptoms.”

Here now almost 9 months out from open-heart surgery, while not everything has been sunshine and roses, there have been a few more lessons learned by this heart-warrior Momma. Allow me to share a few morsels of radical truth:  

1. While the visible scar, as far as our eyes can see, is completely healed, there is a deeper healing that continues to take place. As Aden said to me once at around the 6-month mark, “Mom, I’m not the same person I was before my surgery.” On the outside he is still that golden-haired boy with the curly mop. Inside, there is clearly a deeper, stronger human growing… working his way to the top. 

2. With every major event that has come into our lives, there is a three-fold healing that accompanies it. That healing is of body, mind, and soul.  All of them happen. Maybe just not in our timing.  

And the final lesson…

3. We have to have the scars in order to have the healing. We are always going to have scars that come whether they are physical or those deeper scars of the heart. True healing cannot come unless we are willing to acknowledge the pain and hurt that actually caused the scars. It is then and only then, that we receive beauty for the ashes and can rise up, far beyond the scar.  

Hopefully….

LJ

Our country doesn’t consistently believe in respectful dialogue.

God be with us.

We can all do better.

The Intramuralist Guest Writer series will return on Wednesday after a time of reflection.

[From Guest Writer #1 in our annual summer series…]

You know that moment when someone face lights up in recognition, leans in and starts animatedly talking to someone else? This is the witnessing of someone being seen. Not seen in “yeah, that’s someone I know”, but really seen on a deeper level. Feeling understood and partnered with. This is the collective “me too” experience.

We see it at sporting events and concerts, religious and cultural ceremonies. It is the cheer when a touchdown or goal is made, when the beloved band steps out onto the stage or when two moms lock exhausted eyes over their children’s heads at the playground. It is the feeling of being not just seen but understood. I believe we crave it in our deepest well as a human being. We are made for relationship. Made for the connection to something beyond ourselves. It helps us feel a sense of belonging.

Why else would people spend exorbitant amounts of money on tickets, merchandise, lodging and transportation just to bear witness to an event? They want to BE THERE. To talk about it, to be a part of the adventure. Whether the thing is a favorite authors book signing or the Super Bowl is irrelevant. 

I believe that we are woven throughout our DNA to feel a sense of belonging and it seems that this need is growing even stronger in our desire to catalog and categorize those that are part of US and those that are part of THEM. We seem to have begun to careen down a path of neurosis when someone does not share our particular proclivity toward an event, thought or belief system.

When did we stop being curious with each other? Wanting to know more about another person’s experience, culture or belief system? As a society evolves it tends to move toward a greater level of emotional maturity and inclusion but recently this has shifted into a direction of away, apart, against.

How do we remember that we all are, first and foremost, human beings of the same species? People who laugh and sneeze and thirst and squint? How do we remember the collective experience to which we already belong? 

Maybe we begin by remembering things that seem to ignite the collective experience.  I encourage you to keep this going and share it with others so that we can find commonalities in the everyday. I’ll start. Here goes:

The smells of

Hot coffee

Gut grass

Gasoline (just me?)

The top of a baby’s head

Honeysuckle

Crayons

The sights of

Fireworks

Sunrises

Sunsets

Smiles 

Mountain ranges

Waterfalls

Snow falling

The sounds of

Belly laughs

Wind chimes

Jazz music

Thunderstorms

 “I love you”

Whistling

Cheers of an enthusiastic crowd

The Feel of

The fur of a contented pet on your lap

Cool cotton on a hot summer day

Warm towels just out of the dryer

Someone stroking your hair

Holding hands

Bear hugs

The taste of

Crispy fries straight out of the fryer

Hot fudge sundae

A peach still warm from the sun

A tomato with juice that runs down your chin

Flaky pie crust (the edge is best)

These are just a few that connect each other to the collective experience. I encourage each of you to share this and ask those around you for more “me too” experiences that we can share and use for connection and well, for love. Which is the whole point of everything.

Respectfully…

NS

Here we are. It’s our sweet, annual summertime encouragement where we pivot to the manifestation of listening to diverse voice and perspective. As author Steve Goodier once cleverly quipped, “We don’t get harmony when everybody sings the same note.”

Let’s be honest; the past 10 days there hasn’t been a ton of harmony; in fact, the days have been ripe for discord. I chuckle (sometimes it’s easier to chuckle than wrestle with the shockingly sad reality), but my strong sense is that if we only listen to likeminded voices, we walk away with an imbalanced ear. 

Note the sobering, not-very-fun example in the week that was. As we each attempted to find a way to make sense of the President not making sense, many most addressed the lies of the former President. That’s valid. Also valid is addressing all the lies told to make us think the current President was cogent and ok. Hear that contrast as advocacy for no one; it’s not. It’s a reflection of varied perspective, which acknowledges there are indeed serious concerns about both the sitting and former President — and as of this posting, still the two primary Presidential candidates… albeit those odds decrease daily. Way too many feel like it’s acceptable to lie.

Friends, I don’t say that to egg anyone on. I have yet to corner the market on wisdom or perspective, and the reality is that such is never going to happen this side of heaven. Truth is, it’s not going to happen this side of heaven for anyone else either. There will always be things we don’t know, places in which we have inaccurate perspective, and places in which we have inaccurate perspective but are completely clueless of our own inaccuracy, passionate as we may be.

That said, it’s vital to listen to others. Let me say that differently. It’s vital to listen to a variety of others — people hailing from a wide range of varied social, ethnic, faith, political, educational, etc. backgrounds… people from different demographics… people with sundry stories. We often learn most when we lean into and listen to the story of one different than our own. Thank God for that beautifully insightful opportunity.

Hence, as delightfully said above, here we are.

It is time for one of the Intramuralist’s favorite practices, our annual Guest Writers Series! Over the course of the next 5 weeks, you will hear from an articulate group of communicators from all sorts of backgrounds. They are ages 20-something to 80-something (still cogent, of course). They represent various ethnicities, genders and political leanings. They have advanced degrees and no degrees. And they are passionate about a plethora of manifold matters. You will hear about Caitlin Clark, climate change, and the collective human experience. You’ll hear the journey of one parent who struggled with the all-of-a-sudden, somber diagnosis of a defect in her previously thought-to-be, totally healthy young son. You’ll hear about patriotism, Covid, and more.

But let me tell you what these gifted communicators most have in common…

They desire to share with you in a way — whether in agreement or not — that is respectful… that encourages you… that makes you think. They do not believe in insult. And they are wise enough to know that agreement is secondary to how you treat other people. Only one is a manifestation of wisdom.

In the meantime, I will take a bit of a respite… time to engage in a season of intentional rest, gratitude, and also travel and personal reflection. I’m eager to think and dream and pray and reflect… What should we talk about this fall? … What perspectives am I not all that humble about? … Where are my perspectives incomplete? … Where have I been unwilling to see potential inaccuracies? … Where can I grow?… Good stuff, friends… indeed, good stuff.

For the record, please know that the opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the Intramuralist. I may agree. I may not. But again, agreement is secondary. That’s something I wish we all recognized a little more these days. It would help with the respect.

We learn from one another. We learn from diverse voices. Let this year’s Guest Writers Series begin. P.S. I’m so grateful they don’t all sing the same note.

Respectfully…

AR

Intramuralist, can we talk?

Absolutely. I’m not perfect at respectful dialogue. Never have been. I’ve screwed up multiple times and still do. But there is no conversation we can’t have. I really do believe we’re all in this together.

Thanks. I’m struggling this week with what’s happening in our world. It’s hard to find a way to put all I feel into words. It’s hard to find a wise angle in. I’m frustrated and flabbergasted and disappointed and sad and angry and sometimes even a little hopeless all at the same time. I really hated last week’s debate. I know, I know — it’s been this way for a long time, but it’s like all of a sudden, everyone realized it. I realized it. Before, I was able to tune most of the dysfunction out, not realizing the American political state is as awful as it actually is. I was able to find solace in one of the sides, aware that it wasn’t perfect, knowing they keep trying to divide us, but feeling like I wasn’t sacrificing anything significant. I no longer feel that way. 

I watched a lot. Read a lot these past few days. And I found myself resonating maybe most with the words of Scottish historian Niall Ferguson who wrote this week about the “known” finally being known. “The president is senile. The former president is a blowhard. Both these truths have been obvious for years.”

Ferguson formats the painful resulting question as follows: “Why has the American political system provided voters with this terrible choice between two embarrassing old men for the post of president?” 

Some will make their peace about our collective conundrum by concluding that one man’s flaws are decisively worse than the other. Usually that’s a statement about how only one stands for democracy; the other wants to destroy it. And then I remember how both parties actively worked to keep any unity ticket from being on this year’s ballot. I have trouble with each parties’ means of defining and defending democracy.

But after watching the shots heard ‘round the world last week, I know I’m far from alone in being confused with what is good and right and true. The enormously inconvenient truth — as hard as this is for many to accept — me, included — is that it’s not clear to me what good and right and true actually is.

Not being clear on that doesn’t make me wrong, misguided or delusional. It doesn’t make me anti-patriotic, undemocratic or outright stupid. It doesn’t make me evil either. It also doesn’t make the person on the other side of me more educated, more enlightened or smarter than me. It doesn’t make them more sophisticated either. 

It means as they’ve processed what they’ve seen and prioritized, they’ve come to a place where they have peace about their choice. I hope they do. I want that for each of us. For me, I simply don’t have peace yet. And last week made it worse for me. What do I do?

I wish it was an easy answer. I wish I could just say, “Vote for – – – – – and feel good about it.” But I can’t. There are concerning factors about both people and parties.

And so I suggest a bit of a humble listening tour. Listen to a diverse set of voices. The other night after the debate, I did something unusual: I watched television news. I typically read my news so as to better filter out the biased and more sensational voices. 

I circled through four stations Thursday night: CNN, FOX News, MSNBC, and NewsNation. It was fascinating, and it certainly helped with my processing. (For example, I perceived the perspective of David Axelrod, Van Jones, Dana Perino and Chris Wallace to be most honest and insightful.)

So be humble. Listen to other perspective. Ask more than speak — especially when you don’t understand. Ask instead of assess. Refrain from judgment of other people. And hard as it may be, remember we’re all in this together, even if many don’t want us to believe it is so.

Respectfully…

AR

Put the politics aside. I understand such to sometimes be a difficult task, but clearly the politics are secondary to reality. Today’s post isn’t about the November 5th election, which candidate lied most, nor anyone’s golf game. Allow us to begin with a bit of fiction, courtesy of Hans Christian Andersen, as summarized by the University of Colorado Boulder:

There was once an Emperor who loved new clothes to the point of excess and spent all of his money and time buying and showing them off. One day, two swindlers come to the town disguised as weavers, and claim to be able to make beautiful garments with rich colors and patterns, but which are only visible to those who are worthy of the positions they hold, and are invisible to the impossibly dull and those who are not fit for their jobs. The Emperor is enthralled and gives them a large sum of money in advance to make the clothes. He wishes to check up on their progress, and, having his own reservations, sends his minister to see the weavers in his stead. The faithful old minister finds the two swindlers pretending to be hard at work at their looms, and can’t see a single bit of fabric because it is not really there. He worries that he may not be fit for the position he holds, and does not dare tell the Emperor he cannot see anything, so he pretends to be able to see it. The Emperor sends another official to see the stuff, and the same thing happens to him. Soon, the whole town is talking about how splendid the fabrics are. Wishing to see it for himself before it is taken off of the loom, the Emperor goes accompanied by the two men he had sent to check up on it. He cannot see a thing either and worries that he himself is not worthy of being the emperor. But, he lies, and exclaims that the patterns and the colors are beautiful. Everyone in the suite agrees with him, and the two swindlers are given an order of knighthood. The next day, a very big deal is made out of dressing the Emperor in his new clothes, and they tell him that they are marvelously light so that he will not feel like he is wearing anything at all. They ‘dress’ him, and he starts a procession to show off his new clothes, with chamberlains pretending to be holding up his train while he walked. The entire town pretends, also, to see the clothes, until a little boy shouts that he is naked, and everyone else begins to say the same thing. The Emperor knows that they are right, but continues with the procession anyway.

For months — make that years — we’ve been told we don’t see what we see; we’ve been told the clothes are actually there, but we are unable to see them, it’s just a stutter, or someone has slightly manipulated what we see.

The shock heard round the world Thursday night was that it was painfully clear that there were no clothes, it wasn’t just a stutter, and no one manipulated what we saw. Pres. Biden looked dazed and confused. And that was before he opened his mouth. That was before he answered a question about abortion by talking about illegal immigration. This wasn’t just a bad debate performance; it wasn’t a question of character either. It was evidence of indisputable cognitive decline. And that’s not just an Intramuralist assessment; that’s the assessment of a majority of media outlets which are typically partial to the President.

Friends, remember that politics is secondary. This isn’t an analysis of the candidates nor the coming contest; this doesn’t negate any of the valid concerns many of us have about Biden’s opponent. The current sobering disquietude is that we have someone in the highest office in the land, with access to the nuclear codes, advising world leaders, who is not ok. And I am being kind. The belief that dementia is setting in is indeed plausible.

What I’d like to know, no less, is why didn’t they tell us? Why weren’t those near to Biden, those who speak for Biden, those who cover Biden tell us? Why were they dismissive in February when special counsel Robert Hur reported that he was opting not to bring classified document misuse charges against Biden because “Mr. Biden would likely present himself to a jury, as he did during our interview of him, as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory”? Why did they block the audio tapes of Pres. Biden’s testimony from being released? Why did they act offended when the Wall Street Journal reported 3 weeks ago that “behind closed doors, Biden shows signs of slipping”?

Simply put, why have they lied? Why did they attempt to get us to believe that the sitting President of the United States was looking spectacular, running circles around everyone, wearing some kind of imperial, “marvelously light” clothes? And don’t they know that if you’re willing to lie about one major thing, you’re likely to lie about a whole host of others?

In the classic “The Emperor’s New Clothes” the reader knows from the beginning that the weavers are dishonest. The reader then sees how the deception plays itself out on a bigger stage, as repeated tales are told. We saw that on Thursday night’s stage. What a sobering reality.

I said earlier that politics are secondary. I believe that. I want what’s best for our country. I want what’s best for Joe Biden. I also don’t believe that equates to sitting in the highest office in the land, with access to the nuclear codes, advising world leaders, and not being ok.

Respectfully…

AR

And here we are, time for the first Presidential debate for 2024. Ugh. Yes, there are still 129 days as of this posting until the election, and yes, this is unprecedentedly early, as neither candidate has even been officially nominated as of yet. But after months of debating if they’ll actually be debating — and knowing that extended, skillful dialogue is not a perceived strength of either candidate (albeit for very different reasons), it’s interesting what people have been saying about Thursday’s primetime match up… 

“As we near Thursday’s debate, Americans are fixated on whether Joe Biden will stumble on stage or Donald Trump will blow up in rage. Anything’s possible in a debate – especially when both candidates are high-wire acts,” begins RealClearPolitics contributor Ron Faucheux.

“In an age when we have become inured to the drama in presidential politics, there is still something about this week’s debate that sets the pulse racing. There has probably been no occasion in the modern era when the stakes of a presidential debate have been so high, the competition so close, or the candidates’ performances so unpredictable. The direction of the long campaign, its outcome and even the ultimate identity of one of the party’s candidates could hinge on this 90-minute encounter in Atlanta. Do I exaggerate? Perhaps,” writes The Wall Street Journal’s Gerard Baker.

“Rarely, if ever, has one candidate in a presidential debate had so much material to use against the other,” and, “Can Biden perform? Can Trump tone himself down?” writes AP’s Steve Peoples.

“How do you run a debate between two men whose combined age is two-thirds that of the US republic? The answer is to have no audience, mute the one not talking and schedule bathroom breaks (calling them commercials). It would be an overstatement to say that next week’s clash between Joe Biden and Donald Trump will be definitive. But in a close election in which each candidate’s mental capacity is under scrutiny, it will matter a lot,” wrote the Financial Times Edward Luce.

“This week’s debate between President Biden and Donald Trump won’t produce much in the way of civil dialogue over the nation’s future. It’s more likely to resemble a demolition derby, with each contestant trying to knock the other off course. And, let’s face it, many viewers will tune in mainly for the crashes,” says Los Angeles Times columnist Doyle McManus.

“Even if people are unenthusiastic about candidates, they want to see if there’s a meltdown on stage. And there could be two types of meltdown. Trump could have an anger meltdown, and Biden could have an age meltdown,” said Bipartisan Policy Center presidential historian, Tevi Troy.

“It’s an incredible test of their cognitive competence. This is our chance to see how much they’ve declined or if they’ve declined,” said University of Arkansas political science professor Patrick Stewart.

“Donald Trump and Joe Biden come into Thursday’s presidential debate as incredibly well-known quantities defined by shared unpopularity and competing weaknesses. But their most important liabilities — for the incumbent, his decrepitude and his record on inflation; for the challenger, an unfitness distilled and confirmed by the events of Jan. 6 — feel too well known to be worth discussing further until we see what happens on the stage,” writes New York Times opinion columnist Ross Douthat.

“So, we’re going to party like it’s 2020 all over again,” writes Salon’s Heather Digby Parton.

I suppose it’s sad that we are so far removed from the primary purpose of good debate, that is “to generate effective critical thinking into primary issues in the given topic.”¹ As indicated by the eloquent chorus above, the promotion of critical thinking is trivial at best. The candidates are attempting to score points, look more popular than they really are, and land socially acceptable, rhetorical knock out blows… none of which, dare I say, qualify as good and right and true.

Perhaps the commentary the Intramuralist most resonates with comes from CNN contributor Terry Szuplat, who avers that “most Americans say they want more civility in our national discourse.” In encouragement of how to get there — craving either Biden or Trump would lead us wisely (aka omit the knock out blows) — Szuplat recommends they debate the issues by utilizing the following:

• Have some humility.
• If you want to persuade, don’t condemn.
• Don’t otherize, demonize, or dehumanize.
• Don’t “fight” for your country.
• Appeal to common identities.
• And remember the values we share.

We have more in common than we do not, friends. I wish the candidates realized that, too.

Respectfully…

AR

¹ University of Illinois Springfield, ION Professional eLearning Programs

With all the discussion of age in recent months, perhaps there is something we can learn. Question, in fact: do we recognize youth as a strength? Note the following, fascinating stories of success. Yes, there is much we can learn…

The first emperor of Rome, Augustus Caesar, became a Roman senator at 20 years old.

Joan of Arc was 17 when she helped turn things around for France.

French mathematician Blaise Pascal began developing a handheld calculator at 19.

Louis Braille created the Braille language for the blind at only 15 years of age.

Mozart wrote his first symphony at the wee age of 8.

Also in the music world, Beethoven published his first work at only 13.

Mary, mother of Jesus, was said to be only up to 17 at the time of his birth.

History’s King David was crowned at age 30.

Moving to a bit more of a contemporary season, Bill Gates was 20 when he founded Microsoft.

Steve Jobs was 21 when Apple was born.

Malala Yousafzai spoke out against the Taliban and how they treated women, becoming the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize at age 17.

Not only was Jesse Owens recognized as the world’s fastest human at 22, but he also was credited with “single-handedly crushing Hitler’s myth of Aryan supremacy.”

Several young authors led via their youthful creativity… Mary Shelley writing Frankenstein at 17 and both Charles Dickens and Truman Capote having iconic success at only 24.

Creativity continues as one Miss Taylor Alison Swift began professional songwriting at 14.

The “King of Pop” Michael Jackson went solo also at only 14.

We get a little older but remain youthful when we remember that Elon Musk founded SpaceX at 30.

And Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu — aka Mother Teresa — founded Missionaries of Charity at age 40.

At 52, Colin Powell became Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the highest position in the Department of Defense, becoming the youngest officer to serve in this capacity.

Lest we forget the athletes, Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes each led their teams to their first Super Bowl wins at age 24.

And the one and only Nadia Comăneci became the first Olympic gymnast to score a perfect 10.0 at only 14 years of age.

Suffice it to say, there is great talent, leadership and gifting in our youth.

While I will always offer and encourage deep respect for those who’ve gone before us — those who have deep wells of experience and sweet stories to share, I feel like we need to tap into our younger generations. Instead of being the “one” — the leader, head honcho, top dog, you-name-it — those who are wisest know when to tap into others who could also be the “one.” Wise leadership is never self-preserving.

Last week, no less, as written, our staff participated in an interactive, team building event. Indeed, it was “epic.” There were four teams, each with a pre-chosen leader, a gifted, very capable captain.

Who were our captains?

Well, our four youthful interns and apprentices, of course. What a joy to see them succeed.

Respectfully…

AR