Taking Sides

As I get older, something claiming to be wisdom keeps intruding into parts of my life where opinions are born black and white, demanding that the gray of discerning grace settle over outrage in a calming insistence that I wait.

So often, we hear of some horrible event, and it demands that we root for the victim and curse the perpetrator, as portrayed by the one relating the awful occurrence. We want to rush to seek out cause and blame, that punishment and retribution may be parsed out.

More often than I’d like to admit, the moment I close my mouth after its issuing of my ‘considered’ opinion, more information comes out that either reverses who was really the victim and perp or that both were one or the other. The egg on my face tastes vaguely of some monstrous prehistoric ostrich. My personal opinion is that it goes rather well with the boiled sock lint left over from having my foot in my mouth.

What Other Surprises Does God Have for Us?

The relatively big news out of astronomy recently is the amount of water discovered in space. They have found an amazing amount of water surrounding a massive black hole—enough for 120 trillion earthlike planets! (That’s even nearly ten times the size of our national debt!)

But wait, there’s more…

What is Fair?

This spring term I had two nearly identical academic integrity cases. Two sets of partners turned in nearly identical lab reports, with attempts to hide it by changing fonts and other cosmetics. My default penalty for such situations is a zero for both parties. However, in each case, it turned out that one student had let their partner have access to their report with good intentions, and the partner stole the work, claiming it as their own.

The Hard Face of Reality

Jury duty lasted about 2-1/2 hours. After checking in to receive my juror number, we sat. An hour? An eternity? Finally we were lined up by number and moved into the courtroom in small groups to sit where a card had our number.

Just as the last of us came and the judge began to greet us, the defense attorney came up and whispered in his ear. The judge turned back to us, finished greeting us then sent us back into the hallway, where we sat. A half-hour? An epoch?

We were called to line up again, and then told to sit back down. A few minutes later we were told to go back in and sit anywhere. The numbered cards were gone. The judge told us that apparently the defendant, when he saw around 70 faces preparing to hear his case (selling a small amount of coke to an undercover officer), he realized this was for real, and it was better to make a deal. He’s in jail now.

The judge continued. There was another case on the docket and we were going to be selected and sit for that one since we were still there—a guy did an armed home invasion at his ex-wife’s. He got cold feet and made a deal. He’s in prison.

The judge said the docket was cleared for jury trials for the day. Thanks for your service.

It’s ironic how often folks think they can get off, until it’s time for the trial. We don’t think our sins are that serious, until we come face to face with the judge. Then we throw ourselves at the mercy of the court, hoping to reduce how much of our shadows are exposed.

There is an objective standard of right and wrong that is outside of our perceptions. How can we help our students perceive that, for their own sakes?

SDG