By Dan Hazen / Herald Forum
There are parts of the human character which are only seen in a crisis. My good friend and long-time pastor explains it like a tube of toothpaste: “The tooth paste is always there. You just don’t see it until there’s enough pressure.”
As a pastor myself and as a chaplain for Marysville Police and Fire, I see what crises reveal in people on a regular basis. Sometimes it’s the slow moving and depressing crisis of a failing marriage, a wayward child or existential questioning. Sometimes it’s an emergent, blood-spattered and violent death. But one thing remains the same, there is little room for posturing and image keeping when the crisis hits. What is revealed is almost always the truth.
Imagine being on a third date. Things have been going really well (thoughts of, “Could this be The One?” have begun blooming in your mind) until the fire alarm in the restaurant goes off. With a shriek, your date leaps to their feet, knocking you and the table over, then steps of your hand as they sprint for the emergency exit, never looking back. The truth of your value to them has been revealed.
It’s a misunderstanding of this principle that leads people to torture one another to obtain the truth. It’s been shown that torture, in fact, is patently unreliable. Not because the truth doesn’t emerge, but because the truth is simply: “I’ll say whatever it takes to stop the pain,” truth or not.
But crises that offer no hope of relenting if we just “say the right thing” are different. There’s nothing we can say to bring back the loved one lying on the floor under a sheet. We’ve already exhausted all the words to try to get our spouse to stay. It’s in that place, completely powerless in the face of suffering, that the truth exposes itself.
I recently found myself unconsciously using this principle to evaluate political candidates. Over the last three years, there have been countless situations which rendered leaders largely powerless. Natural disasters, pandemics, decisions made outside their realm of influence. It’s their response to these crises which revealed the truth.
As you thumb through the voter’s pamphlet in the next couple of weeks, let me encourage you to consider how each candidate responds to a crisis they cannot directly control. That response is a wedge which holds open the door into the truth of their character and values.
Under pressure, did they disappear? Go silent? I’m reminded of some national office holders who seemed to have lost their voices during the pandemic. I’m reminded of other office holders who have (more than once) been absent during key votes, abstained or were otherwise “occupied” when it came time to respond to a crisis.
Under pressure, did they start casting blame? Rather than focusing on action, did they just try to manage responsibility? Is every crisis an opportunity to point out their opponent’s perceived weakness? Is there always a lawsuit, always an oppressor, always an opponent, always a bully who garners their attention even before the crisis has ended?
What’s inside the toothpaste tube is what finally matters.
Dan Hazen is the community pastor at Allen Creek Community Church in Marysville.
Herald Forum
The Herald Forum invites community members to submit essays on topics of importance and interest to them. Essays typically are between 400 and 600 words in length, although exceptions for longer pieces can be made. To submit essays or for more information about the Herald Forum, write Herald Opinion editor Jon Bauer at jbauer@heraldnet.com or call him at 425-339-3466.
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