{"id":6727,"date":"2016-10-02T09:40:02","date_gmt":"2016-10-02T13:40:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/intramuralist.com\/?p=6727"},"modified":"2016-10-02T09:40:02","modified_gmt":"2016-10-02T13:40:02","slug":"piercing-the-normal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/?p=6727","title":{"rendered":"piercing the “normal”"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"photo-1468930605463-659a967fc4e8\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Sometimes a day interrupts the \u201cnormal.\u201d It interrupts the \u201cnormal\u201d so much, it shocks us back into remembering what\u2019s most important.<\/p>\n

I imagine that\u2019s what it was like the day JFK died. I wasn\u2019t 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 \u201963, 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 \u201cnormal\u201d of the time, thinking our leaders were always respected and safe, when they were not.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s what obviously happened on 9\/11. America had always, so beautifully embraced the idea of being a \u201cmelting pot,\u201d a land that lauds its diversity, welcoming all tired, poor, and people with their accompanying demographics and beliefs. But that \u201cnormal\u201d 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.<\/p>\n

It happened, no less, again last week. There was a young, major league pitcher who played for the Miami Marlins, Jos\u00e9 Fern\u00e1ndez. The 24 year old lost his life in a boating accident. Fern\u00e1ndez was a star \u2014 the ace of the pitching staff. But Fern\u00e1ndez was more than just a focus of the far-more-than-casual-sports fan. Note the below excerpt from ESPN Magazine\u2019s pre-season cover story\u2026<\/p>\n

In an interview with rising MLB star, Bryce Harper, Harper was discussing how baseball\u2019s \u201cunwritten code\u201d dampers self-expression. He singled out Fern\u00e1ndez:<\/p>\n

“You can’t do what people in other sports do. I\u2019m 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.<\/em><\/p>\n

Jos\u00e9 Fern\u00e1ndez is a great example. Jos\u00e9 Fern\u00e1ndez 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 \u2014 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 \u2014 sorry.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

In other words, Fern\u00e1ndez\u2019s flair was not a sign of one-up-manship; recognized or not, it was instead a\u00a0manifestation of the joy of playing the game \u2014 what should be<\/em> the \u201cnormal\u201d of baseball. When Fern\u00e1ndez\u2019s 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 \u201cnormal\u201d 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\u2019t matter. They were shocked into remembering what\u2019s most important.<\/p>\n

What strikes me this day is the potential for other \u201cnormals\u201d that may also be pierced one day\u2026 shocking us at our core. You see, the piercing elevates the important.<\/p>\n

Perhaps you, too, are struck by the \u201cnormal\u201d in the current political environment. Sadly, there exists a glaring lack of civility. There is such a demandingness; that is our \u201cnormal.\u201d<\/p>\n

There seems this crazy, disrespectful acceptance of \u201cif you don\u2019t think like me, you\u2019re either (a) wrong, (b) an idiot, or (c \u2014 and most likely) both of the above.\u201d<\/em><\/strong> Our \u201cnormal,\u201d friends, is that we have lost the ability to respect the person who doesn\u2019t share our perspective. The current election season, the reaction to \u201cBlack Lives Matter,\u201d the debates over gun control, socialism, minimum wage, a living wage, abortion, healthcare, centralized government\u2026 our new \u201cnormal\u201d is that good-thinking people justify thinking \u201cboth of the above.\u201d<\/p>\n

I\u2019m concerned.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s it going to take to pierce that normal?<\/p>\n

It will be something. I\u2019m fearful of what it may be. But I do pray it shocks us into finally remembering what is most important.<\/p>\n

Respectfully\u2026
\nAR<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sometimes a day interrupts the \u201cnormal.\u201d It interrupts the \u201cnormal\u201d so much, it shocks us back into remembering what\u2019s most important. I imagine that\u2019s what it was like the day JFK died. I wasn\u2019t born yet, but I know the news spread quickly, as the sitting American President rode through Dealey Plaza in downtown Dallas, … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “piercing the “normal””<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6727","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-event"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6727","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6727"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6727\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6739,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6727\/revisions\/6739"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6727"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6727"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6727"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}