Broken As Clooney

It's true. We all can't wait to turn on the news to see which politician did something hypocritical. What preacher disobeyed God's teachings. What officer broke the law. Which parent broke his child. 

My daughter came to me with an issue. A professor said something unkind to her in front of the class. A professional she was taught to defer to, to respect, to follow. Her world was shattered for that time before we spoke - when I sat her down and reminded her how many wonderful and loving things had been said before, how could she let one person negate all the good? Isn't this the time to stop the madness and realize the imbalance of power a thousand good words has over one that hurts? 

But sadly, it's all too true - that kind words are powerful, but unkind words are atomic. 

So it is with our society today. In our media-riddled world of seeking the darkest in others. That the entire news broadcast is about the bad, with one good one at the end to "perk us up". The good doesn't bring in the ratings, otherwise it would be the other way around.  

Everyone is human. I know, this is tough to admit. We all want to imagine that Clooney is a god (although I can feel my DNA shift along with your own as I consider its validity) but that's because he never lets his guard down. And we never want him to. It would ruin the mood. 

We elect our politicians because they have the better ads, nicer look, most power to get things done, and then we wonder how they could possibly do anything so stupid as send a selfie of a snake. 

Why should the words from one human have weight over the words of another? 

Perhaps a key is to live your life knowing in your heart your own level of broken. I know, how depressing is that! We are taught to love our own magnificence. That we are each too good to treated poorly by others. This is true. But how can we deal with the hurtful times if we cannot empathize with the world view of the other who is unable to see the world as you do?

My daughter is a strong, A-type creative, opinionated young woman. Her professor is an  A-type, commanding personality.  No words even needed to be spoken to see these two would not be having tea. Yet this interaction stunned her to her core. Her world-view was shattered. The unexpected was almost worse than the altercation itself. The lesson from this? Pedestals should be for plants. 

Yes, there is protocol and decorum. But they are not law and can be broken at any time. The protection is to enter life knowing that no matter how high an office, how important an individual may be in your daily life, everyone is at first and foremost a flawed human being with a certain number of tools with which to deal with us other flawed human beings. Sometimes one has a dirty bomb, while the other has a hammer. And sometimes, all you have is the nail. 

In the end, we all belong here. Because we are here to learn, to look at our selves and discover our tools. Who knows, you might even lend one out to a friend. But none of us is perfect. However I may need to go back to that Clooney reference, just to make sure.