An old Illinois friend came to visit Abraham Lincoln in the White House. After a good, honest conversation about what has happening in the country the friend was preparing to leave. He asked the President if there was anything the President wanted to relate to their mutual acquaintences in Springfield. Lincoln replied with the story of a great chess champion who won all of his matches until he met with a mechanical player. After losing several matches, he got up and inspected the machine. Finally, he cried out “There’s a man in there!” Lincoln asked his friend to remind his critics that there was a man in the White House.
Our digital age and media culture have the potential to remove from our consciouness the humanity of those with whom we are communicating. Depite their ubiquity, words printed on screens still hold an emotional finality not carried in the spoken language. I sound a lot more sure than I am, and I hear you differently online than in person. With that in mind, one of the goals here is to avoid a reactive discourse. There are some things the internets are good for. Often, reasoned discussion is not one of them. Transmission of knoweldge is one.
I do believe that if we know each other better, we will be more kind to one another. As I grow in the knowledge that I’m a fumbling child of God, trying to figure this thing out and experiencing moments of incredible beauty along the way, I am more able to see other children of God, my brothers and sisters, doing the same damn thing. A bunch of bozos on the bus. My ride will be more comfortable if you are kind to me. Increasingly, it is intolerable unless I am kind to you.