A Cheap Pair of Used Florsheims

I have a daughter and a wife. They have been part of my life for 30 plus years. I have lived with one for the entirety and the other for the majority. I do not have any idea what it is like living as a female. I respect and appreciate the differences their difference has made in my life. I admire them for this as well.  

I have a son who has cerebral palsy. He has been a part of my life for 30 plus years. I have lived with him for the entirety. I do not have any idea what it is like living with his disability. I admire and respect the life he has lived.

I have too many dogs and most days, too many cats as well. I have had one or the other, usually both, for well over 50 years of my life. I do not have any idea what it is like living as either. Mine have it made so, I am a bit jealous at times. Their needs are simple. Ours should be. There is much about the way they go about their daily life that I strive to find.

From kindergarten through completion of my Civil Engineering degree I have had 18 years of formal education. I am being generous for including my high school years since I did not complete most but the point remains: I do not have any idea what it is like being a teacher. I admire and respect those that have.

I have never served in the military. I came close to enlisting at a later age but backed out on the last day. I have no idea what serving our country in that capacity is genuinely like. I admire and respect those that have.

I have friends of varied race, ethnicity, and faiths. I am a white male and thus among the most privileged. I am not religious but just recently discovered that I may be a secular humanist. I like that grouping a lot better than when I was “just” a Baptist. I have no idea what it is like to go through life as a person of color, or to be limited by the language, I do or don’t speak, or to feel emboldened or shunned based on my faith. I admire and respect people such as this. More so for their difference than for their similarity to me.

I have managed to get myself into various degrees of trouble in my many years on the planet. None of which would be serious by the standards of today. But, maybe, had I been in a different town, a different time even, or had I been of different color or class, I cannot say how things would have worked out. I would be willing to bet, not as well. Needless to say I have had a wide range of experiences with police officers. I have had them serve as mentors, had many as friends, and some as adversaries. I have been in many, many situations where their mere presence provided me great comfort and, as noted above, I have been in situations where their presence was not received as comforting. I sleep better at night knowing they are around. Yet, despite a lifetime of interaction, with the absolute best and some not so, I have no idea what it is like to put on a uniform and to protect and serve. I admire and respect those that have.

I have never lost a child, a friend, or a family member at the hands of another. I have never been mistreated based on the color of my skin or subjected to hate based on the practice of my faith. I have never been the victim of the overwhelming power of justice, simply because the rules are tilted to favor the rich, the powerful and the protected. I have no idea what any of that is like. I cry for those that have.

They say you need to walk in the shoe of another before you criticize or condemn. It seems to me that there are too many among us, myself included at times, that have way too many shoes in their closet that do not fit. It is far easier and much more rewarding to acknowledge the good in all things than it is to shout from the rooftops, for all to hear, how the shoe that doesn’t quite fit you, has worn a blister.