Pondering: Minneapolis: There is No One Objective, Not Even One | Part 1

Why don’t we see the same thing when we’re looking at the same thing?

Minneapolis has once again become a focal point in the national spotlight for all the wrong reasons. Massive fraud within parts of the Department of Human Services. Massive fraud within parts of the Somali community. Massive influx of ICE agents. Massive deportation efforts. And massive amounts of polarizing rhetoric surrounded the clash between ICE agents and citizens, especially surrounding the shooting and the death of Renee Good.

I am dismayed by all that has happened and continues to happen. I’m reminded of the proverbial wisdom, “When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise” (Prov 10:19). I ask myself questions like:

Is there more to say that hasn’t been said?

Who am I to insert my opinions or assert judgment?

Would a social media statement just be performative?

Is this where time and energy are best spent?

Yet my eyes and ears are attuned to certain things that make me wonder whether others are seeing and hearing the same.

Here are some of the influences I’m seeing underneath and over all of this.

Fixated: Why are we so consumed with figuring out who is to blame?

America has a high quotient of Innocence/Guilt influence. This shapes our cultural worldview. It’s why our legal system rests on the impartial premise that all are “innocent until proven guilty.”

Historically, the purity of legal practices has been marred by the influence of, among other things, wealth and racism. In error, we too often “acquit the rich and guilty and convict the poor and innocent” (Bryan Stevenson). The undue influence of wealth and racial prejudices are issues our legal system still has a long way to go to fulfill its equitable and aspirational intentions.

This Innocence/Guilt cultural influence rears its head ferociously in moments like ours. We rush at hypersonic speed to assign blame or seek justification. We respond reflexively, even unconsciously, to defend our own innocence or that of our habituated favored allegiances. The Scripture tells us, “There is no one righteous, not even one” (Rom 3:10). It is more than plausible that a similar axiom accurately describes us: “There is no one objective, not even one.” Once we take our first breath of life, context begins to shape us. We are no longer a blank slate.

The mind and emotions operate at incomprehensible speed. Neuroscience tells us that the conscious mind can process 40 frames of information per second. In that exact second, the unconscious components can process 1.2 million frames of information. Those unconscious frames eclipse the conscious mind, shaping our initial responses and motives. The 40 conscious frames are predominantly used to rationalize our already formed conclusions and enacted responses. In other words, our brains short-circuit, bypass objectivity, and draw nearly instantaneous conclusions.

Have you ever wondered why someone who holds different views from you is “so predictable” in their responses to certain stimuli, while failing to realize that you are just as predictable?

This is why we don’t see the same even when we are looking at the same thing.