C I P R I A N I

Still reeling a bit about the FORWARD entry a few days back.  So much so, that I’m beginning to remind myself of Bill O’Reilly being so self reflexive in a somewhat public forum. 

I caught another Lawrence O’Donell spot this morning at the gym and it appeared that he was in an upscale Hollywood club (I say Hollywood because I’m in Los Angeles).  Upon further google searches, apparently it was New York.  Anyway – it hardly looked like the VFW from the Deer Hunter.

I was proud of myself with that little reference, feeling like a dime store Dennis Miller – but had my eyes deceived me? Was he actually NOT in a blue collar background, but rather in a space more suitable to his leftist/socialist leanings?  (which at least in his 30 second spots, I seem to 100 percent agree with)…

There were 2 spots.  And the previous one, really doesn’t quite look like the VFW – Hell, it might be the back of the same coffee shop Schultz was talking to himself in.

Anyway … I’ve devoted far too much time to this – but perception and divisiveness seem inextricable from where I stand.

One person sees Obama finally standing up to the GOP – another calls him the most the divisive president in History.

One person thinks of the Catholic Church as one of the greatest charitable organziations in the history of mankind, another sees it as an evil ring of corrupt pedophiles.

One person sees the United States as a beacon of liberty and freedom, another sees it as a bloated imperialistic nation hellbent on global destruction.

The Buddha speaks of the Middle Way…

and yet still one person may call the middle way the path to mediocrity while another sees it as the road to a balanced life.

We are a contradictory species.  Look no further than our sacred texts.  From the the conflicting stories in the Gospels that upon closer view paint varying pictures of a man who led a peaceful revolution … while others would say …

This us vs. them mentality, as I referenced earlier, this “Life as Professional Wrestling” makes for interesting theatre but it’s not very useful for problem solving.

We are a contradictory species because we are an imperfect, complex one.  And perception can raise a person or group or country to the heights of divinity or the bowels of the most wicked.

In these complex times, it seems crucial to weigh both sides and consider perception.  And perhaps try the middle way … and a positive perception.  

In other words, the benefit of the doubt.