Unexpected

"Life's most urgent question is, what are you doing for others?" - Martin Luther King, Jr.

It's interesting that in the same day,  two men can completely change my view of them. I think in an election year especially, it is easy to put people in boxes of "us" and "them" suggesting, generally speaking, who's camp you're in and who's camp you oppose. Generalizations, more than ever, become the name of the game. Especially on Super Tuesday.

So, it's interesting that in the same day - today - that two men completely switched camps. Or in the least, temporarily, reminded me that people don't fit into boxes. We're all far to complicated for that. Their names and words are unimportant to my point today, but will surely be included in my future musings. For now, it's all about the surprise.

One man, who had been incredibly reputable in my book and has gained my respect gradually over three years in Tulsa, promptly lost it this morning. The other man, who has been the bane of my Okie existence since 2009, gained some of my respect this evening. Each man, separately, only used a few surprising words about different topics in the realm of children's rights.

Surprise is the understatement of the day. Anger, sadness, and shock start to describe my reaction to one man this morning. Inspiration is the positive emotion resulting from the other man this evening. And very truly, I always expected it to be the other way around.

It's interesting that today, the same day that Oklahomans are participating in Super Tuesday and fueling the fire between men in a national political race, two local men unknowingly competed for my metaphorical vote. And only one won - the one who, if you had asked me yesterday, wasn't even close in the polls.

Now the first may not be in elected office any time soon, and the second didn't win my vote for his re-election with his words. But both surprised me, unexpectedly, for better or for worse today, and they lost or won my vote of respect.

I often believe the best in people and assume they are all well-intentioned. I trust easily and hope for the best in humanity on most occasions. But that's only my surface value. The aggregate of a person's actions, demeanor, and words build my impression of them over time. My first impressions of both of these men are opposite of what I saw today - and that goes to show that first impressions may last, but they are malleable. Kind of like our brains, our muscles, our hearts. It also shows that people are dynamic and multi-dimensional, showing sides of themselves sometimes and sometimes not.

And it goes to show that even that the good and the bad reside in unexpected places, that proceeding with caution, staying principled, and doing for others are key elements of making decisions, investing in others, and voting both literally and figuratively. At least in my view. Too bad there isn't a ballot for some of these things, but at least I know what to keep doing: paying attention. Listening. Seeking truth. Today, super or not, and every day. No matter the unexpected.

~MJ