Which Tribe is the Dia-Tribe?

Our heads are round so our thoughts can change direction. Francis Picabia

Thinking is hard. It’s actually harder to think than most of us realize. Part of the reason for that difficulty is that we’re accustomed to starting with our conclusions because that’s where we’re at. I mean, I already know what I think about most things, so anyone who comes up to challenge my opinion on something is already starting off on the wrong foot.

When I was in Junior High, I remember science classes where we were learning about “the scientific method.” I don’t remember much about it now, of course, but I do remember that we would start with an observation, ask a question, then develop a hypothesis to explore the matter, and then we’d do some experiments to prove or disprove the hypothesis. Well, believe it or not, I wasn’t very good at crafting hypotheses, so I would do my experiments first, then go back and craft a hypothesis that fit the facts as they developed. That meant I was never wrong; my conclusions always fit my hypotheses, but I really didn’t engage in “the scientific method,” did I?

Why not? Because thinking is hard. Admitting I didn’t know something from the get-go was embarrassing. I knew my ignorance, of course, because I knew I was taking shortcuts. I don’t know if my science teachers ever caught on to what I was doing, but they didn’t need to. I knew the truth – something from which I couldn’t hide.

I wonder if some of the violent rhetoric we find flying around these days on social media, letters to the editor, and such whatnot isn’t the result of people taking shortcuts on matters under consideration. 

We know what we know, but do we really know what we know? Those who have had military training know the importance of depersonalizing the enemy, because it is really hard to kill someone if you think about their parents, siblings, friends, lovers, and children. The enemy isn’t a person – not a part of “my” tribe – but an object to be scorned and killed before “it” kills you. Sociopaths and psychopaths are able to commit their atrocities because they don’t see their victims as people, as equals, or as peers.

I may not be a psychopath or sociopath exactly, but I know how easy it is to act like one. My heart fills with violence when someone says or does something I find unconscionable. If I think, however (which is hard to do), I realize they may well be thinking similar thoughts about me. This attitude is exactly what led Cain to slay his brother Abel, and the religious and secular authorities to torture and kill Jesus. How can I claim to be better than them when the same illness resides in my heart, in my soul?

I can’t. That’s the truth of the matter. I can’t, unless I’m willing to do that which is very hard: think. People can look at the same facts and reach different conclusions. We can agree that oysters are edible, but we don’t have to agree about whether or not they are delicious. Oysters are oysters and there is a lot we can learn about them by studying them, but taste is subjective and it is also a fact that not everyone will appreciate an oyster except for its pearls.

How about issues that are more important to our lives than oysters? Well, I would say we need to remember that God gave us two ears and one mouth. I believe Jesus calls us to listen to one another. I believe he calls us to think first, and speak second. He definitely calls us to honor one another and treat one another with kindness, including those who would abuse us and mistreat us. Like thinking, that’s hard to do and, like thinking, it is something we hope Jesus was just kidding about when he said it.

That’s fine if your goal is to fight, but Jesus calls us to learn. The word he uses is “disciple,” the root of which is discipline. That doesn’t mean punishment, by the way; it means thinking. And that’s what I want to do here in this, our valley – always, even if it’s hard.

Keith Axberg writes on matters concerning life and faith. Author of newly released: Who the Blazes is Jesus? Good News for a Vulgar World (available through Amazon in Print and e-book)