One night back in the mid-90s I noticed my tv skipped from 13 to 15. I tuned in directly to Channel 14 to discover it was the scrambled signal of HBO. As a sheltered homeschooled teenager, I knew this was a major discovery.
I studied the pixels on the screen like I was an archaeologist trying to decipher an ancient artifact. I could see shapes moving. A hand, I think. Someone’s face? And then I was certain I saw nudity. Ok – like, 80% sure.
Standing there staring at that glowing rectangle – I became a man.
Just kidding, but I remembered that discovery recently when I was at church. Let me explain…
Our pastor was talking about Samson. You already know the story: long hair, really strong, died because some chick betrayed him and got a pop song written about her… But this time the pastor talked about the WHOLE story maybe you haven’t heard – a weird wedding riddle, the nagging girlfriend, and a sad blind man committing suicide. It’s not as simple as the tale I got told with paper cutouts stuck to a felt board in Sunday school. This story had suffering and human frailty – with all it’s ugliness, I was attracted to its truth.
I’m learning that bitter truth is more satisfying than sweet-sounding lies.
As it turns out, back when I found Channel 14 I was watching actually some boring show that wasn’t the steamy scene I had imagined. I think was Arliss. This guy:
This is not steamy.
Reality was different that what I assumed with only a portion of the truth – and that’s what I see today in the world of politics.
When we look at the world through glowing rectangles we only get a part of the story. When we scroll past headlines in our Facebook feed or hear soundbites on the news we are like a kid staring at a scrambled channel. Our minds fill in the gaps and construct a reality where everything makes sense. It’s natural to make it as clear as day and night but in reality it’s more like dusk and dawn. It’s not easy to admit that I don’t know everything – that my view could be wrong or incomplete and that people I disagree with could have a valid point. “Us” is a lot harder than “Us vs Them”.
If you think life makes sense, you’re ignoring something. It’s complicated and often humbling and always a mix of light and shadow.
I have to remind myself that no political party is always right and my political opponents aren’t evil or out to destroy the country. Even as I write this, I must admit I am guilty of feeling this way sometimes. It feels good to think I’m right and other people are liars. It feels bad to know that I’d rather feel good than be honest.
My hope is that I learn to seek truth and not accept only a scrambled glimpse of it – otherwise I will just end up staring at this guy:
Still not steamy.