Understanding wisdom...

When I was in my last stretch of high school, our yearbook staff got the less than brilliant idea of adding superlatives to our yearbook. They had the typical "Best Dressed" and "Most Athletic", etc., etc. I always hated these and any other distinctions when I was in school. Principally because I never got any of them, but mostly because it was the same people who received them over and over, leaving the rest of us to feel unworthy of recognition. I still hate these "awards". But the one I had the biggest problem with was the superlative, "Most Intellectual". The person chosen had the highest grades without question, because she had the equivalent of a good memory (and a rehearsed tear-laden speech for teachers who dared give her less than an A+). But she had no ability to apply her knowledge. She could spurt off Shakespeare or the Periodic Table at a moment's notice, but could not put together a well thought-out argument about anything other than her moral stances. Intellectual to me means having wisdom, but also original thought, and the ability to connect the two. It has nothing to do with grades.

This memory was rekindled as I read about Bertice Berry's experiences in her childhood church, hearing her pastor's words concerning a lesson in Proverbs that states, in so many words, that "wisdom is the principal thing, but we must also get an understanding". I think this one line sums up what is wrong with our country today. We have wisdom coming out of our ears, but no understanding of the effects of our actions, of other people's situations, of our own situation. One example that comes to mind of this is the fact that lawyers now advertise on tv to those who are suffering from medical problems, offering the ill the enticing path of revenge by suing the doctor who "caused" their malady for amounts nearing the worth of Britney Spears' mansion. Everyone wants the satisfaction of someone to blame. Sure, we have the wisdom to win the fight, but we're missing the war.

Tonight I forced my husband to watch one of my all-time favorite movies with me, Switched at Birth. It is an old tv movie about a court battle over a little girl who was unknowingly switched at the hospital following her birth. The family whom she was taken from, once they found out their daughter was not their own, immediately launched into a press-covered lawsuit battle against the hospital, and later, against the father of their child. While I understand the wisdom behind their actions- they had a legal right- and I would never assume to know what being in that position consists of, they chased on the heels of their wisdom, not their understanding. There are certain things that require more from us than our brains. It's the old, "just because you can, doesn't mean you should" argument.

We, as humans, are able to pretty much contort any argument to fit our purpose or intent, but we must do so with an understanding of the consequences. Otherwise, we are walking blind.


An evening walk. (I had to wear my thick sweatshirt and sweatpants!!!)