Don’t assume you see more than you really do

I have heard it said that a conservative has got to be concerned lest his hearers will not understand where he is coming from, that he is not making his position clear and plain. On the other hand, the liberal is concerned his hearers will discern his real agenda. Could this be?

I read a story about a deaf judge who thought he had deceived his co-workers and that they thought he could hear well. However, his co-workers knew he could not hear well and took advantage of him at every turn. How many of us are like that judge? We really can't hear past the end of our nose and we are reduced to lip reading.

Remember the take about the five blind men who went to see an elephant? One of them caught hold of the elephant's tail and said, “my, my, an elephant is very like a rope.” Another blind man ran into the side of the elephant and exclaimed, “this elephant is very like a wall.” The third blind man put hands around one of the legs of the elephant and muttered, “mm, the elephant is very like a tree.” The fourth blind man encountered the trunk of the elephant and said, “Beware, the elephant is very like a snake.”

I don't recall the observation of the fifth blind man, but so it goes. Could it be that most of the time we don't know enough to make a right call?

Frederick Steinbron

Jesup