Banner LOVES driving to the park and around town, or taking road trips. She watches out the windows with enthusiasm, like a kid going to a theme park, even when we take the same path or mostly the same path every day. As I stop at an intersection, I catch her watching through the windshield and wonder if she has figured out that green means go, or that red means Stop, most of the time. If that were the case, I think there would be more noise from the back seat passenger. And I think she would be barking for me to turn left or right, or perhaps it doesn’t matter as much to her as simply the going and the visual entertainment – what’s new here or there, is that black dog another Newf, who let the cat out, etc. On the other hand, if you pass the regular turn for where we park at the park, you will hear about it. And since there has been road construction on one side, we have had to take detours, to the sounds of a worried Newf. She thinks humans need a certain amount of supervision.
Today I left without her (GASP!) to meet Greg for breakfast. I saved a piece of bacon to take home, due penance in such a situation (being in an area of food without the Newf). As I stood outside waiting, there were two young men talking in front of me. One was encouraging the other to listen to a video about something. Being a good listener, I kept listening. The speaker caught onto that and continued his testimony. He said something about people in the 60s turning to Jesus because no one else wanted them. Then he had my full attention. Here was someone whose history lesson, no doubt through church or church school, informed him in a way that allowed him to view the social movement of that time with sympathy, but under a highly focused filter. Preachers are driven to use examples to support their preferred interpretations in order to get the message across that they want others to hear. I felt like calling him out and mentioning that World War I began as a religious war, but managed to get to the truck without interjecting. Sometimes an interjection is wise, sometimes it cements beliefs in the wrong way. But I wish people, of any age, would choose carefully who they listen to. Bias may not be fully avoidable, but it is an intellectual compromise that leads to social problems.
I’m always telling my Newfs that Listening is Very Important. Somehow they seem to need little coaching on who they listen to, except for that obnoxious drama-enthusiastic terrier mix. It’s easy to see how reinforcement occurs when she behaves badly and Banner excitedly goes in to reward her for her drama. (Amen!)
Disclaimer: not all religious leaders or followers are driven toward misconceptions, and those who are probably listened to somebody else.
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