Sometimes a day interrupts the “normal.” It interrupts the “normal” so much, it shocks us back into remembering what’s most important.
I imagine that’s what it was like the day JFK died. I wasn’t born yet, but I know the news spread quickly, as the sitting American President rode through Dealey Plaza in downtown Dallas, assassinated just after noon. It was November of ’63, and while Kennedy had not formally announced his re-election plans, it was clear he was gearing up to run again and seemed confident he would win. That moment, though, pierced the “normal” of the time, thinking our leaders were always respected and safe, when they were not.
It’s what obviously happened on 9/11. America had always, so beautifully embraced the idea of being a “melting pot,” a land that lauds its diversity, welcoming all tired, poor, and people with their accompanying demographics and beliefs. But that “normal” was disrupted by 19 men who took terror into their own hands in the name of their religion. Not all religion is the same. Not all adherents are wise. We were reminded that not all believe in a good and righteous God.
It happened, no less, again last week. There was a young, major league pitcher who played for the Miami Marlins, José Fernández. The 24 year old lost his life in a boating accident. Fernández was a star — the ace of the pitching staff. But Fernández was more than just a focus of the far-more-than-casual-sports fan. Note the below excerpt from ESPN Magazine’s pre-season cover story…
In an interview with rising MLB star, Bryce Harper, Harper was discussing how baseball’s “unwritten code” dampers self-expression. He singled out Fernández:
“You can’t do what people in other sports do. I’m not saying baseball is, you know, boring or anything like that, but it’s the excitement of the young guys who are coming into the game now who have flair.
José Fernández is a great example. José Fernández will strike you out and stare you down into the dugout and pump his fist. And if you hit a homer and pimp it? He doesn’t care. Because you got him. That’s part of the game. It’s not the old feeling — hoorah … if you pimp a homer, I’m going to hit you right in the teeth. No. If a guy pimps a homer for a game-winning shot … I mean — sorry.”
In other words, Fernández’s flair was not a sign of one-up-manship; recognized or not, it was instead a manifestation of the joy of playing the game — what should be the “normal” of baseball. When Fernández’s boat and body were recovered early Sunday morning, it reminded us that a game is just a game; life is more important. The tragedy thus pierced our “normal” that gets so out of control, as contemporary society focuses far too much on celebrity, status, and winning. The Marlins cancelled their game that day; winning didn’t matter. They were shocked into remembering what’s most important.
What strikes me this day is the potential for other “normals” that may also be pierced one day… shocking us at our core. You see, the piercing elevates the important.
Perhaps you, too, are struck by the “normal” in the current political environment. Sadly, there exists a glaring lack of civility. There is such a demandingness; that is our “normal.”
There seems this crazy, disrespectful acceptance of “if you don’t think like me, you’re either (a) wrong, (b) an idiot, or (c — and most likely) both of the above.” Our “normal,” friends, is that we have lost the ability to respect the person who doesn’t share our perspective. The current election season, the reaction to “Black Lives Matter,” the debates over gun control, socialism, minimum wage, a living wage, abortion, healthcare, centralized government… our new “normal” is that good-thinking people justify thinking “both of the above.”
I’m concerned.
What’s it going to take to pierce that normal?
It will be something. I’m fearful of what it may be. But I do pray it shocks us into finally remembering what is most important.
Respectfully…
AR