There is something there you cannot see

I remember being in a seminar when my boss used an analogy to make the point: there are two sides to every situation, and one’s perception of the scenario differs based on what lens they are looking through. 

He held up a dollar bill to an attentive audience. “What do you see?”, he asked of a willing participant. The audience member described the pictures and details on the side of the bill he was presented.

Then my boss flipped it over. “Now, what do you see?”, he asked. And - again - the observer described a set of notations and depictions. Only these were different from the first side.

He summarized his point: It’s two different descriptions and perspectives, but it’s one bill. In a similar way, many occurrences or situations in life can have more than one accurate description. 

Oh if only we as consumers of information would embrace that point. 
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THE STORY OF TWO ANGLES

To this day, the aforementioned analogy frequently comes to mind. Especially in this day in age when we have competing “reports”: whether it is professional media, amateur media, those who just catch headlines, others who know detailed background info and others who find their information from deep research. Oh and then you have the people who actually lived the story first hand.

You can have multiple angles to a situation - and it’s the same situation. More than one person can be right. Varying angles and therefore perspectives can mean something astonishing: more than one person can be right.  “Both people” or observations are right but they differ based on perspective, context, institutional knowledge, wisdom, history and lens through which they are analyzing. 

When one acknowledges this reality of different vantage points, it creates a conundrum: “Wait, maybe I don’t know it all and my judgment might be premature?” And it also provides an opportunity for grace: I don’t know what you know, I don’t see what you see, but here is what I’m observing - please show me what you know and let’s help each other better understand.

The problem comes when neither side wants to listen, so to better understand, but instead are certain they already do understand just from what they have observed. This is a dangerous road to walk. Unless you have intentionally explored the deep context, semantics, and details of both sides - you don’t know the whole story. This dance on a precipice could damage your reputation, your effectiveness, and your integrity. Yes, it’s serious.


MULTIPLE SENSES - WHICH IS RIGHT? 

In politics, your senses are queued to take in lots of information and move fast in assessment. Your psyche - oftentimes without intention - creates the repertoire or library of beliefs and opinions. You learn to read beneath the lines, to catch the un-intended (and intended) signals and pay attention to non-verbal cues such as body language. You learn who is to be respected and who can’t be trusted. You learn who is credible and who should not be believed. The longer you are in politics and the broader your experience, the “deeper” the knowledge base to pull from, the broader teh foundation (or history) you have to build upon, and the greater context you have to consult when framing your judgment of “what is right”. 

The more knowledge you have, sometimes you are able to ascertain “truth” faster. Plus, the longer you are in politics, the more people you know and you can send a text message to the Governor or the Chief of Staff directly and say, “What do you know about this?” vs trying to glean info from news reports and second hand assessments. This access really does make all the difference. 

This speaks to the value of developing relationships with elected leaders, long before the moment for the “hard talk” is needed. It’s easy to get on social media and slam an elected leader for what they are or are not doing but one must admit, how wise are we when we ask the questions? Do we understand the context and are we using the right lingo? Are we demanding something of them that they may have spoken about but really do not have the ability to control? Do our questions make us look wise - or do they cause us to lose credibility in asking them? 

If we are not careful and we allow what we perceive, and the little (or a lot) we know, to be our foundation for truth without being fully vetted - we are setting ourselves, and others who follow us, up for a wobbly road moving forward. It’s like building a house on the sand: the sand looks firm for a moment but if we don’t take into consideration the makeup of the sand and all the elements that contribute to a sturdy situation, it could be the thing to destroy us. 

So how do you know what is right and what is wrong? You go to the original source, or to someone who is as close to the source as you can get and you ask them, “can you tell me what you see? What am I missing?” You ask questions from varying perspectives. You do your best to take it multiple factors. Truth should rarely be considered accurate based on “one headline” from a liberal media source.

I have learned that one little thing can drastically change a situation. Imagine a wall clock; it’s hands are tied to the gears - that make it connect to the battery and keep time - by a bolt. If that bolt is not there, it can’t turn properly. Even one little detail can radically change the situation and scenario. That is why you have to get all the details and reserve judgment until you have done so. You have to be aware of “all” the senses contributing to the story.


SLOWER JUDGMENTS ARE BETTER

In my early and mid 20’s when I was still growing my skin in politics, I was so quick to jump to judgment. Statements like, “How could they do that!” or “why would they ever consider doing that?” or “Did you hear …” were probably common out of my mouth. I am sure - if I could turn back Father Time - I would blush at my tirads of righteous judgments. I knew what was best - obviously! I had a headline and could run with it! (Obviously I’m being sarcastic.)

God bless my boss who graciously helped me through the process of how to see things as a Christian, with integrity, and wisdom. It took me a while but I learned the wisdom of waiting for the rest of the story, for gleaning the vantage point from the person with first hand knowledge. I had to acknowledge that I did not know the whole context. I learned the value of going back to the original source to get the whole narrative. 

The sad part is that oftentimes as grassroots “out here” we do not have all the facts and will never know the more complex explanation. But it does not mean we should not seek to understand and to be understood. Until people have walked in someone else’s shoes, it’s never fully understood. However, the thing that you do “deserve” is to be regarded well by your elected leaders and communicated to.

This speaks to all the work we can do beforehand to get to know the candidates and those running for office. Do we know them? Do we trust their leadership? Do we have a knowing peace that they will be men and women of integrity? Or do we have a red flag?

Much of our peace on the opposite side of elections - you know, when people finally take their official position - will come from what we know about the people on “this side” of power. And if we do not know them, and cannot trust those who do know them then yes, we are in for a lot of sleepless nights when we see decisions revealed that simply do not make sense. 

 
BECOMING BETTER AT FAIR JUDGMENTS 

So the question becomes “How”? 

How do we better understand? 
How do we give our leaders the benefit of the doubt when they will not communicate with us? 
How do we shine a light on leaders who deserve scrutiny and harsh consideration? 
How do we grow our own sense of integrity and be seen to be trustworthy? 

Here are 5 things to start you on the road to better understanding, and being understood: 

1) Make sure you understand the terminology and the legal rules for which an elected leader can operate. This may sound basic but stick with me: when you see comments from people on social media saying, “I called my State Senators to let them know my opinion” make sure they are clear. We do not have State Senators plural.

When you say I called our Senators to let them know where I stood - did they call the Senators serving Michigan in the Washington DC Capitol? If it is a State issue (something happening in Lansing), Washington DC Senators won’t do much on it. They have wasted their frustration.

When they say “I contacted all my Congressmen about x issue but they won’t listen.” Well, let them know they only have one Congressman/Congresswoman and if it is a topic having to do with Lansing, they aren’t the people to contact. They should be contacting their State Representative and State Senator. 

These are just simple examples of how oftentimes - unknowingly - we might be starting out on the wrong foot. So know your terminology and make sure you are contacting the right people.

Use the Citizen Guide I point to on my Citizen page. That will help you and peers get familiar with all the semantics.


2) Build a team of trusted patriots that you can share notes.

Build a team of Patriots that you trust and can share the load with through delegation and teamwork. Let Mary in your group get to know the State Representative, let Bob reach out to and grow a friendship with the Mayor, and let Sarah share what she can glean from the State Senator. As you all work together to better understand, it will make the load easier.


3) Be known by your elected leaders.

Buy a copy of “How to Win Friends and Influence People” for everyone in your patriot tribe. Remember that people IN politics have demands from thousands of people. You are not the only one demanding, asking, probing. They are just humans with limited staff, and limited resources.

But why not add some honey to your relationship with them. Let them start to get to know you for your kindness and your prayers and support. When you call the office, you won’t be someone that the staff grumbles over having to handle but they will rush to the phone to see, “Hey David! How can we help you?”


4) Show up at the opportunities they offer.

When your elected leader has a town hall - be there. When they have a virtual coffee hour, show up. When they send out newsletters, read them. When they post their speeches on the House or Senate (etc) floor, listen to them. Get to know them. Listen to what they are saying and be at the opportunities they are providing. 
 5) Be very careful on where and how you are consuming news.

Just because one news source printed it does not mean it’s right. You can always send a link of the article to the Press Secretary for the Legislator or Politician in question and say, “is this accurate? Can you clarify for me?”

Who is supplying the report? Are they biased? Are you digging into the context of things or only reading the headlines? Dig and dig again. Ask your friends. Be responsible information consumers and information distributors. 

CONCLUSION

I’d love to say I am a carpenter. I can recognize wood. I can recognize when something looks sturdy and safe. I can recognize if something looks cheap or rotten. But this does not make me an expert on building a house.

For all the new friends who are joining the efforts of grassroots and politics, you are celebrated and welcomed. You are an answer to prayer and life to our bloodstream! Just a word of caution, please. Recognize, you may know the constitution, you may think you know how to get something done, you may know how a legislature is to work, but there is always another side to the story. And until we walk in those shoes or walk closer with the leaders who do, there may be many more consequential details to discover before we fully understand a situation.

There are two sides to every dollar bill but it is still the same entity. You are right to ask questions; be eager to understand the other side as well. Hopefully the leaders will - in turn - be eager to see your vantage point. Keep asking. Be patient. Be worthy of respect. And by your fruit and attitude let leaders see you as someone they want to work with. 

The best days are yet to come! Hang in there!
​- Amy 
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