"on the other hand"

There is a frequent segment on CNBC financial shows called, "On the Other Hand." Here, John Fortt presents an argument for a popular issue in business. Once it seems he has convinced you of one view on the issue, he stops and says, "on the other hand," as he argues the counter position on the same issue. I find it fascinating in how this approach can disarm divisiveness and conflict. 

I was walking to the stadium today when I passed this sign. In every other week the signed said, "parking $20". I began to ponder. This home had a large yard that could park some 100 cars. It seemed that the owners of this land understood capitalism. Today was Auburn vs Ala football game, the biggest crowd of the year. Maybe for these folks, supply and demand suggested higher prices for parking cars at the game. On the other hand, the demographics of those who lived here suggested they were likely Democrats, who would not see capitalism as a preferred way to operate. Maybe their loyalty to Auburn suggested they wanted to stick it to those Ala fans coming in from out of town by jacking up the prices.

Some say this is a way capitalism is not fair. It takes advantage of those who have no options but to buy. On the other hand, those who support capitalism claim it is fair to charge what the market will bare. It's hard to say which of the two views is the real reason for jacking prices today.

I heard someone say this week that we should never use "but" or "however" when discussing two opposing views on an issue. When we use these terms to introduce our perspective, we are in a sense rejecting the opposing view. This is divisive, maybe even condescending. If we say "on the other hand," we are suggesting simply there is another way to consider the issue. 

While reading the Apple News feed, I saw back to back articles that were discussing important issues of our times. One article was debunking the myth that "if you try hard enough, then you can build the life you want." Many believe our country is the land of opportunity. The author of the article was rejecting that idea by labeling it a myth. The article claims Matt Black's book, "American Geography," however dispels the myth. Every place Black visited that had poverty rates above 20% revealed structural obstacles to success. Black "belies the idea of opportunity." As far as I am concerned, Black did not advance the discussion of this question about opportunity in society because he has a "but" argument and not an "on the other hand" discussion.  

This was the next article. This points out how a Dr. who had sought to solve problems with dementia found himself a patient. He chose to build an "on the other hand" view of the disease as he examined what he saw as a patient and not what he knew as a doctor.

 

Maybe you don't consider the difference between "but" and "on the other hand" to be significant. When I pondered it, I begin to feel that this change in how we advance conflicting ideas might transform much of the discourse in the public arena and maybe even in our business organizations and families.

 

Fear "of" and fear "to"

 We are in a time where an admission of failing mental health (primarily anxiety) is seen as a positive development in someone's life. The culture seems to honor a person who drops out because they admit they suffer from a mental health issue, especially a celebrated athlete of entertainer. I came from a background where we were encouraged to push through anxiety and do what we are committed to do, especially in performance situations. I grew up in a "get over it" world where anxiety was not to be condemned, but was not an acceptable distraction from doing what we should.

Life is full of anxiety, along with its stronger big brother, fear. It's not new. It's not an issue for people because of recent events. Maybe it would be helpful to examine anxiety and fear and identify it's source. Maybe learning to deal with the reasons for anxiety and fear is a better option for our culture than giving in to it and demonstrating tolerance by celebrating it.

The most common source for anxiety is fear OF the future. By definition, the future has not yet occurred and is thus uncertain. The inability to control the future to eliminate uncertainty is part of the futility of being human. Anxious about what might happen grips the human soul and stresses mental health. Fear in the moment, like performance anxiety, is really about controlling the future because the moment is the immediate future until it happens and then it is the past. Guilt and shame from what has happened can stress mental health as an anxiety. Fear about how past failures will affect the soul's uncertainty of its future acceptability is stressful.

So, one view of fear is the fear "OF "the future. This ever present anxiety is most commonly dealt with by therapy centered on a hope or assurance of the future. This is an especially common approach in Christian circles.

A less considered view of anxiety is a fear "to." This is more profound than just a play on two little words. What do I mean by fear "to"?

    

    Let's explore this.

There is a condition of the human soul that is even more pervasive than the desire to control the future to eliminate uncertainty.

What might that be?

You may or may not have heard the term "metaphysical." The word sounds complex, maybe even scary. It's really not. It's just a fancy word for the unobservable, the invisible. Understanding what we cannot see with our physical eyes has stressed humans from the beginning of time. 

For thousands of years, philosophy has been man's way to explore rational models to understand the unseen. Yet, philosophy fails to establish conviction because it is impossible to prove a metaphysical fact. Everything man knows about the metaphysical is speculation. Trusting what we cannot see is problematic to the soul. The soul is not made to rely on unobservable knowledge.

That's why faith is what God requires of His people. Faith is trusting what we cannot see with our physical eyes. The fear that may be a greater mental health problem for humans is the fear "to" trust what we cannot see. Overcoming the fear "to" trust unseen evidence does not involve therapy, but transformation. For many, both Christians and secular, trusting what they cannot see (which everyone does in some way) lacks an assurance and thus seeks therapy. For some Christians, fear "to" trust the unseen is dispelled by revelation of God Himself to humans by the Holy Spirit.

This may be why fear "to" trust the metaphysical is seldom dealt with well, even when theology or proper beliefs about God are present.

Just some random thoughts on mental health that come to me in my quiet time. I give them to you to ponder .....