For example, in a recent conversation/debate I had with a friend regarding a blog post I agreed with, it was made clear to me that the fact that I believe a certain subset of a particular people group should be defended and allowed to exist automatically means I think another people group should not exist and not be defended and therefore my entire belief system should be cast in doubt. In another conversation I had, the fact that I think a certain subset of another people group should be given monetary support before another subset, automatically means I hate said second subset and thus, my entire belief system should be cast in doubt. Why? Because it's obvious! After all if A = B but if C then definitely NOT A. DUH!
That doesn't even make sense to me. The so-called logic of "if A = B but if C then Not A" (or however you write it) is inherently false because the person making the assumption of "if C then Not A" simply does not have enough information to make that call. And in one case, had false information provided by only one side of the multi-sided issue at hand.
That's where the ability to funambulate comes in. Funambulation, or tightwire walking, "is the art of maintaining balance while walking along a tensioned wire between two points." (Wikipedia). The operative phrase in that sentence is maintaining balance and the operative word is tension/ed.
When you look at the definition of funambulism, however, there are other forms of the art. Relevant here is slacklining. In slacklining, "the line is not held rigidly taut; it is instead dynamic, stretching and bouncing like a long and narrow trampoline."(Wikipedia) Slacklining comes in two forms, freestyle and traditional. Freestyle slacklining (see video below) uses a nylon rope that "has little tension in it (relative to the weight of the performer,) while both traditional slacklines and tightropes are tensioned. The slackness in the rope or webbing allows it to swing at large amplitudes and adds a different dynamic to the art" (Wikipedia).
Again, however, there is tension in the line and the artist must maintain his balance. Otherwise he'll hit the ground between the two points.
There is one other thing about both tight and slack wire walking that is intrinsic to both but not part of the formal (or as formal as one can get with Wikipedia) definition. Have you spotted it yet?
Intrinsic to all forms of funambulation is the need to leave the poles.
Nothing happens until you leave the poles. If you hold on to the poles like someone is trying to steal them from you nothing happens. No dancing, no bouncing, no nothing (and yes I know it's a double negative, get over it you pedants). Definitely no change. If you insist that "if C then NOT A" there will never be any change, just a bunch of As and Bs yelling foul things at each other. Too many people are hovering around the poles. It's getting crowded and loud. And pretty damned ugly.
The middle of the rope is the only place where action happens. Unfortunately for some people, it's almost as if the very possibility of acknowledging that something they disagree/agree with might be equally good/bad as its opposing viewpoint is akin to boiling puppies alive in the backyard. I really just do not get that.
Aristotle (and my mother) said that it is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. Without integrating it into my psyche but giving it the thought and consideration it deserves simply because another human being has it. That is also the definition of tolerance. You don't have to tolerate something you already agree with but you DO have to tolerate things you do not agree with. That's what the word means. And you have to give the people who hold those views as much consideration and courtesy as you would like them to extend to you. Tolerance does not mean "we all believe the same thing". That's just stupid and if you are offended by the fact that I said the word stupid in concert with this concept of "tolerance" you probably don't need to read my blog because you are going to be offended on a regular basis. Fair warning.
In the Sermon on the Mount, and in His conversations with the Scribes and Lawyers of the Temple, Christ said two things. First, "Do to others as you would have them do to you...Love your enemies, do good and lend [to them] expecting nothing" (insert mine, extrapolated from the text) and also,
One of the scribes...asked him, ‘Which commandment is the first of all?’ Jesus answered, ‘The first is, “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one;you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.”The second is this, “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” There is no other commandment greater than these. Then the scribe said to him, ‘You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that “he is one, and besides him there is no other”; and “to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength”, and “to love one’s neighbour as oneself”,—this is much more important than all whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices.’"Basically, if I want my point of view heard and seriously considered, I FIRST need to do that to my neighbor--and my neighbor might be someone whom I disagree with with all my heart, strength, and mind. St John said, "Those who say, ‘I love God’, and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also." But he prefaced it with,
"There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love."You can not maintain that balance in the middle of the rope between two opposing views held by people God loves without loving them, too. And if you do not love them how can you say you love God?
You cannot. You cannot make an idol out of your pole. If you do you have forfeited your love of God for a hot mess o'pottage because of your fear. And there are over 300 commands to "Fear Not" in the Bible. Commands. Not suggestions. You cannot fear your neighbor and love them at the same time. You can only do one or the other and one of those things leads to idolatry and worse.
So this is how you maintain that balance. You love God with all your heart, and with all your mind, and all your stregnth...And you love your neighbor as you love yourself.
And have faith.
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| Brian Mosbaugh takes a breather as he crosses the high line about 850 metres above Rio |
Relevant Reading
Wikipedia entry: Funambulism
Luke 6:31
Luke 6:35
Mark 12:28-34
1 John 4:18, 20-21
Funzug.com: Highwire Adrenaline Junkies
*The original title of this post was Tightwiring Through the Tulips...But I hate tulips.
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