If you've ever seen a tightrope walker perform, then you know that it might be one of the most stressful things the human eye can watch. If you haven't, just imagine watching your favorite sports team play the final seconds of a game in which they have the ball down by one and have to score to win the game- and then multiply that stress level by about 20. That's what it feels like watching a tightrope walker perform.
Yesterday, I was working an event at work (Cirque du Soleil), and there just so happened to be a tightrope walker in the act. But he wasn't just any tightrope walker; He was THE tightrope walker- the one and only one in the performance. And he was good. Really good. He was so good in fact that not only did he walk on the tightrope, but he also did: headstands, flips, jumps, balanced contortion and, last but not least, unicycling- all on the tightrope.
Watching this portion of the performance brought me out of my 25-year-old self. I felt like one of the kids in the audience as I watched. I ooh'd and ahh'd. I cringed and gasped. I even found myself subconsciously moving in my seat trying to will the performer into balance with my own movements. Needless to say, he didn't need my help.
Watching tightrope walkers perform is stressful for a the obvious reason of not wanting them to fall to serious injury or their death (depending on height). Anytime there's a slight lean to the left or right, it's only natural to lean the opposite direction yourself to try to will them back to the center. It makes sense, but sadly, it doesn't really help them out much. They're pretty much on their own.
It's funny how much I've felt like a tightrope walker these past few politically-charged months in America. I've felt like I've had to walk on this narrow, straight line without leaning too much to the left or to the right because if I do, I'll fall to serious injury or death. As I've tried to walk this narrow rope, I've had people to both my left and my right, each trying to will me to their side of of the rope and away from the other side for fear I may fall victim to what's on the other side. On both sides of the rope are people I respect and trust, but yet why can these people on each side say such awful things about the people I respect and trust on the other side? I have to admit, it's been stressful. Like watching a tightrope walker. Except I am the tightrope walker.
Picking a side isn't safe- much like tightrope walking isn't safe. Holding an opinion isn't safe- especially in a cultural that's so quick to label one as "hating" the moment there's disagreeing opinions. Voicing an opinion leaves you vulnerable to fall to one side or another and to be scorned by the other side for doing so. There's cultural risk involved and a risk of upsetting someone you may respect and care about because it might not be the side that they lean to. However, is tightrope walking really the best way to live? Is it best to go through life keeping your thoughts to yourself and trying not to fall to one side or another so as not to step on any toes?
Maybe it is. Maybe it isn't. But one thing is for sure: to really love people and stand up for them and for what you believe in, it often requires picking a side. Otherwise you're silent. And when you're silent, much like I have been as I've tried walking my tightrope, you're watching the problem grow, and when you just watch and do nothing, you become part of why the problem is a problem in the first place. Loving people isn't safe and safe isn't always best.
With that, I want to end this post with a poem my friend Landry Harlen wrote a few months ago for This Land Press. In his words, "Safety is never worth hate."
Safe
Added a padlock to the fence,
I am safe,
nine different passwords,
I am secure.
New model with crash sensor,
we are safe,
no needles for my kids,
they are secure.
No secondary colors,
no strangers with strange names.
Let’s just play it safe.
Pistol under the pillow,
pistol in the purse,
pistol in the pocket,
semi-automatic in the safe.
No more movie theaters,
no more marathons,
no more Bible groups,
no more company parties.
Safe.
More SPF,
more insurance,
more check-ups,
more pills,
more cages.
WE ARE SAFE.
-Cliff
Landry's Note: "Safety is never worth hate."