No Frills

Just a simple 'hello' to blip-land. Hel-l0OOOO

I stayed up past my bedtime last night writing, and writing, and writing, it seems, after attending a city council meeting, scheduled to discuss a letter sent to them by an organizing that has targeted Christianity and has determined to eliminate any signs of it in public places. The target of their letter to our city council was a Viet Nam War Memorial honoring the fallen and their families. They do not appear to be trying to rid society of the influence of all religions on society, only one religion.

As I mentioned yesterday, I was profoundly moved by the show of love for soldiers and their families as hundreds of community members turned out, predominantly, to show their support for leaving the memorial...and it's cross...right where they are.

I had a discussion with a couple of people this evening. Have you ever done the exercise where one person describes a picture and another person tries to draw what they describe? The point was made that information has to travel through a lot of obstacles before it goes from the printed image that the 'sender' is looking at and appears at the other end in the tip of the pen of the 'receiver'. First, the 'sender' looks at the image and thinks about how to describe it in a way that the receiver can understand and reproduce it on their paper without seeing the original.

It sounds easy, but the person describing the image must process it through their own understanding, their own ideas, and their own experience. They assume they know how the person listening to them will hear the information and how they will respond to it. The listener, in turn, processes the information through their own filters of experience and assumptions about what the sender means when they describe each part.

We did this exercise this evening and one of the drawings was pretty close to the simple drawing of an owl that I was looking at. The other was quite different and didn't resemble an owl at all.

When we were done, we talked about perceptions and filters. We talked about extending grace to other people while they try to understand what we mean when we are talking to them. We talked about trying to be patient and not jump to conclusions when others are talking.

I think that best describes how I feel when I look at a memorial or a statue of any kind, trying not to jump to conclusions about the symbols or design of the monument. I try to remember that there will always be a way of looking at it that I will never see because I was never in the head of the artist. We never shared the same moments in time, we weren't influenced by the same books or people, perhaps not even the same music or movies.

I did give some thought today about how I feel when I see something that I consider to be a very grotesque or vulgar statue or piece of artwork. I do find it disturbing and I do prefer to avoid looking at that type of work. I wouldn't like it if it were in my face every day, and I would have to reconcile those feelings if someone erected something locally that effected me that way.

I hope & pray that I would still care about the person who created it. That I would still want them to find the best in life, and I would make an effort to understand what they were trying to say when they created it. If for no other reason than to remain free in my own heart from the bitterness that poisons the soul. I want to remain in a civilized society where people give each other that kind of consideration. Where speech is not only free, but the people are also considerate and respectful.

So much for a simple, no frills blip. I'm not done thinking about this. I'm not done sharing about it. I'm not done writing about it. I'm grateful to those who fought hard so that I would have the privilege to do so, and I want them to be memorialized the way that is fitting for them.

The photo is the foliage of a poppy unfolding. That is simple. It's beautiful. It is effortless. I want our ability to communicate to be effortless as well. It could be that I just want too much. But, still, I can ask.