I remember an interview in the 1980s between Ruhollah Khomeini – who was at that time the Supreme Leader of Iran – and a Western journalist. The journalist asked Ayatollah Khomeini about his favorite Beatles song and the Ayatollah had never heard of The Beatles.
We in the West were shocked at this. How could anyone not have heard of The Beatles?
And now, we find ourselves in the United States of America – depending upon the bubble we happen to live inside – asking:
- How could anyone not know who Krista Tippitt is? (if you are a college-educated liberal city person)
- How could anyone not know the difference between a Holstein and a Guernsey? (if you are a dairy farmer in North Carolina)
- How can anyone not know who Beth Moore is? (if you are an evangelical Christian woman living in Texas)
- How can a grown man not know how to install a ceiling fan? (if you are a construction worker in Ohio)
- How can you not know how to shoot a .30/06 bolt gun? (if you are a hunter in Idaho)
- How can you not know the work of J Dilla? (if you are a rap music lover in Detroit)
- How can you not know all the words to “A Mighty Fortress“ (if you are a mainline Christian over the age of 50)
We all live in bubbles. All of us. We know what we know. And we don’t know what we don’t know.
And. This. Is. Why. We. Need. To. Get. Out. More. We need to talk to people who are not like us – not to argue with them but to appreciate them and attentively listen. We need to refrain from mocking each other and refusing to appreciate different gifts and different goals.
Our nation’s health – and perhaps our very lives – depend on this.
It’s fun to burst bubbles as children in the backyard. Let’s try that as adults with the spheres in which we find ourselves.
A Church for Starving Artists 