Building Community
Where was my notebook? My first reaction was confusion. It was that feeling one gets when you are certain where you left the car parked, but it is not there, or are positive you hung up the keys, but they are nowhere to be found. It is disorienting. You look, look away, look back again, half expecting the missing item will have appeared and somehow you missed it on first glance.
I was in first grade. It was the first week of class. My parents had provided me with the notebook we were asked to bring with us. The teacher instructed us to write our names on the upper right hand corner. At the end of the day we left our notebooks on the top of our desk. The next morning I returned to discover my desktop empty. In my confusion, I looked around and noticed the girl sitting next to me had erased something on her notebook and written her name over it. I looked closer. I could clearly see my name still visible under her name. I, of course, told the teacher. The girl insisted it was hers, but fortunately the teacher was astute enough to see the truth of the situation and the notebook was returned to me.
For the most part, first grade thieves are not very good. Plus those erasures rarely do an effective job. But, what I most remember about that day was not the stolen tablet, but the awareness that anyone would do these type of things, cheat, steal or otherwise be dishonest and then insist that I could not believe what I clearly saw with my own eyes. It was shocking. It is still shocking.
It seems we are now regularly told we are unable to believe the truth we see with our own eyes. January 6th is probably exhibit A, where virtually everyone witnessed people storming the capitol in what rightfully could be called an actual insurrection, attempting to overthrow a national vote. Police officers were killed and injured. Legislators threatened along with other elected leaders, like Vice President Mike Pence. Yet, there are those who have sought to erase that picture and replace it with a drawing of friendly visitors who simply want a tour of the nation’s capital.
What is truth? This is the cynical question the Roman ruler Pontius Pilate asks of Jesus prior to his execution as recorded in the Christian Gospel of John. Then, as now, it is intended to make us feel truth is unknowable, completely subjective and anyone who has the capacity or authority can define truth in whatever way they wish.
What is truth? Can we believe our eyes when we see images of a mom being shot by ICE agents in Minneapolis? Can we believe our eyes when we see doors smashed without court ordered warrants, dragging residents out into the cold with little if any protection? Can we believe what we see when community observers have chemicals sprayed in their eyes for no other reason than the act of observing? Can we believe our eyes when car windows are smashed because the driver’s observations are unwelcome? Imagine being an observer driving around your neighborhood; a young woman comes on the group chat with terror in her voice, “help me, help me. I don’t know what to do. They have me boxed in and I can’t move”. You listen to her panic and terror as she is told to get out of the car and her window is smashed. Can we believe what we hear and see? What about the alternate version being told? The agents are simply doing their job. What is truth?
Admittedly, it is disorienting and confusing to be told you are unable to believe what you see with your own eyes. But, what was true in first grade remains true today, if we look closely, past the erasure and what is placed over it, one can still find the truth peeking through.
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