Assumptions

(Written a loooooong time ago!)

I was watching this new game show yesterday. It's called Million Dollar Money Drop. This couple starts the game with a million dollars and they have to correctly answer 7 questions to keep the money. Each question is multiple choice and they place their money on the answer they believe in. They can even divide the money between the available answers, to give them a greater chance of hanging onto some money when unsure of an answer. However, one answer must always be left blank, with no money placed on it. By the time they get to the final question, with however much money they have managed to hold onto, there are only two possible answers. So, it's essentially an all or nothing situation. You will go home with money on none at all.

In yesterday's episode, this couple made it all the way to the final question and they still had $200,000. They were given two possible answers: surfing the internet or watching T.V. The question that was presented asked the couple what teenagers, nationwide, spend the majority of their time doing.

This couple was very excited about this. See, they both worked in schools and spent all their time with teenagers. They had a great deal of confidence in their knowledge and experience. And everything that they knew had taught them that surfing the internet was the answer. They discussed between themselves all that teens do on the internet. They named social networking sites, internet chat, blogging, email, research for homework, downloading I-tunes, etc. They faced the final moment with confidence and peace of mind. They were taking home $200,000 to remodel their home. They were wrong.

To look at this couple, you could learn just a few things. They were well-dressed in fine quality clothing. They were employed in positions regarding college degrees. They were well-spoken, intelligent, and cooperative. However, they couldn't overcome something that we all fall prey to at times in our own lives. They made an assumption based on their knowledge and experience and it was wrong.

I knew the right answer. Of course, because had I got the question wrong I probably wouldn't be blogging right now. But, I knew the answer was T.V. I would not have known this from looking at my own children. My daughter, Emily, is an internet queen. You will not see her without her laptop at her side. She blogs, she chats, she follows blogs, she tweets, she facebooks, she participates in forums (whatever the hell that means, I don't even know if I worded that correctly), she downloads tunes, she "stumbles" (ironically, I do know what that means), she creates albums of interesting stuff she finds on the web, etc., etc., etc. She does not watch T.V. And in our home, we have wireless internet, four laptops, five facebook accounts, two twitter accounts, email, online banking, etc. I cannot imagine not interacting with the internet on a daily basis.

However, about a year ago I found myself working in a community mental health agency. During that experience, I learned a lot about how different my life is compared to a huge section of our population. One of the things I learned is just how many people out there in our cities and in rural America don't have computers and don't have internet access. It was shocking to me. How do they function? The internet is my phonebook, my Atlas, my newspaper, my entertainment, my access to jobs, my teacher ... you name it! But, that was what I found. Many Americans do not have computers and do not have internet access. The couple on the game show made an assumption that was incorrect based on their experience and knowledge and it was wrong. They paid a hefty price, too.

All of this was brought to my mind yesterday after watching the highlights of President Obama's speech at the Tucson Memorial Service. The president said "As we discuss these issues, let each of us do so with a good dose of humility. Rather than pointing fingers or assigning blame, let's use this occassion to expand our moral imaginations, to listen to each other more carefully, to sharpen our instincts for empathy, and remind ourselves of all the ways that our hopes and dreams are bound together. We should be civil because we want to live up to the example of public servants like John Rowe and Gabby Giffords, who knew first and foremost that we are all Americans and that we can question each others' ideas without questioning each others' love of country." Later he said, "I believe that for all our imperfections, we are full of decency and goodness and that the forces that divide us are not as strong as those that unite us. That's what I believe."

So, the question became how do we obtain this dose of humility and this empathy for one another. How is it possible, when everyday all of us make such incorrect assumptions with such great confidence about the lives of others as the couple on the gameshow did. I can tell you one thing right now, wanting to live up to the example of public servants is not a strong enough motivating force. There has only been one force in all of human existance that has been strong enough to overcome every dividing force and that is Jesus Christ. And it is only by recognizing that Jesus Christ died for you too that I can question your ways without questioning your being a child of God, every bit as deserving of love as I. That's what I believe.