As a little child settling down for sleep, I amused myself by quickly closing one eyelid and opening the other. The object of my study leapt from left to right or right to left. Amazing. I was 8 years old in third grade when I got my first pair of glasses. I sat in a huge chair with a frightening array of lenses in front of me. I clearly remember the optometrist saying in a German accent: “Betta or vorse?” I was terrified. I didn’t know “betta or vorse.” I couldn’t tell “betta or vorse.” So I guessed and then worried my eyeglass prescription wouldn’t be correct.
Years later my mother was shopping for a black pocketbook. She chose one she liked, but it was brown. We argued. I asked a saleswoman to help us. She reaffirmed the bag was brown. Outnumbered, my mom continued to shop. Soon after, I went with my mom to have her cataracts removed. The surgeon showed me the lens. It was nearly brown. So my mother, looking through a brown lens, thought the bag was black.
Many years later, I was sitting in the chair of the eye surgeon. Still with the wheel of lenses. Still with the many choices. For better or worse. This time, as an adult, I didn’t guess or lie. I just said, “I can’t tell the difference.” Clearly, I had cataracts. The left eye received the new lens first. After a couple of healing days, I opened the corrected eye and looked at a painted wall. Then I closed that eye and opened the still-unrepaired cataract eye. I could certainly tell the difference now. The color of the wall actually changed. From left to right. Absolutely amazing. I hadn’t been seeing true colors for some time.
This is a circuitous prelude to try to understand the divisions in our country. Among our friends. We clearly do not see eye to eye. Matthew 7:1-5 made an observation: “First cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eyes.”
It took surgery for me to see clearly in both eyes. But what will it take for Americans to see clearly across political differences? Across political misinformation?
On Jan. 6, an angry mob forced their way into the U.S. Capitol, intent on stopping the counting of the Electoral College votes. It was terrifying to see. Then on Feb. 13, we watched Congress hold former President Donald J. Trump responsible. Fifty-seven senators, a simple majority, voted Trump guilty of inciting insurrection. Not enough ayes, when a two-thirds majority was needed to impeach.
The Capitol assault videos were seen from every angle. Millions of eyes tried to resolve the image. Eyelids opened and shut. Objects jumped. But facts can jump as well. “Betta or vorse?” Can America’s democratic vision be made clear, or is it all a guess?
Is the political pocketbook black or brown? What America needs is a fearless salesperson who can tell us the truth.
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