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Writer's pictureDan Marich

Which One Are You?


I'm not really sure what got me thinking of this, it was just another of the weird things in my head that I have come to accept, but I believe that there are two categories in life that all things fall into, things that anyone has the chance to do, and, things that only a certain kind of person can do.


For example. You do not have to be of a certain size or shape to play baseball, or golf, or hockey, or soccer. Anyone could decide to become a plumber, or carpenter, or secretary. Now, to be one of the elite at any of these things you of course have to have some god given talent in that field to be sure. What I'm suggesting though, is that Joe and Jane Normal person has the chance to do those things.


However if you want to be a football player, or basketball player, or actor, or singer, or writer, you need some pretty specific skills or traits. Same for becoming a doctor, or salesperson, or teacher, for example. There are some pretty specific skill sets needed to do these things and certainly to be one of the top in any of these industries you need to have god given traits or skills also.


I can see you all out there thinking, so what?


So, I'm not even sure myself what this means, or if it is even important, but it keeps gnawing at me that there is something here that is meaningful as it relates to life and ourselves. Or it could mean that I really need to get some professional help and to stop listening to those voices in my head. "I am trying to explain it better." Jeez they drive me nuts some days.


I started thinking about this in terms of being a baseball fan as opposed to being a football fan. Football is acknowledged as being America's number one sport. In terms of viewership on Super Bowl days, I would agree, however if you add up viewership on all baseball games played on any given day, the total eyes on baseball are greater than football for any Sunday. I think.


I believe that the everyperson list above represents a closer profile to who we really are as a country. In the US, baseball has been the fabric of our lives for generations. We've shared it with our parents and they've shared it with theirs and so on and so on. It has always been who we are as a country, even as football and basketball have grown in popularity. If you live in Canada, hockey is that sport. Europe and Latin America have soccer. Asia loves golf. All these are who they are as countries and as people.


The everyperson looks to the specialized person with awe and wonder. Most of us are not going to be a football, or basketball, player so we look to those that are, to live vicariously thru them. The same with actors and singers. We marvel at their ability to play different characters or carry a tune so beautifully. The specialized people seem beyond the reach to the rest of us and this makes them larger than life.


I wonder if they look to us everyperson people and wish they could be like us? I doubt it. I think this is what I'm figuring out, finally, and that is, that the reason that we continue to not be able to resolve so many issues is because our views on life are completely on different planes. People with a baseball mentality will never understand a person with a football mentality and vice-versa.


It is why we cannot get together on so many important issues that are tearing the world apart. Race, politics, environment, etc., will never get to a point where we can all agree because we see them in two different lenses. Importantly, we will never understand the others position because our minds, and make-up, are not the same, we don't get why they can't see our position, which seems crystal clear to us.


The world is racing ahead at a breakneck speed. Information is being thrown at us in volume and context like we've never seen before, and so is bad information and poor context. Some of us have the ability to sift through the good and bad, and take the time to reason out what is correct and what is nonsense. Some of us can't process it fast enough, or screen out what is true and what is false, so we look to others for help.


If your help comes from someone that is not like you, then you are getting misinformation and become confused and frustrated. We need to first figure out who we are as a person, in order for us to find the right source of information, to help us make an informed decision. I'm not talking about which TV network news you watch or what newspaper you read. I'm talking about the overflow of information on the internet that needs to be weeded through for correctness.


I will give you a head start. About 95.8% of what you see or read on the internet is bullshit. That should help you when deciding what is true and what isn't. If you get your information from Twitter or Facebook that BS number goes up to 99.99%. If you get your news from this column, well then I'm really sorry for you.


Since it seems unlikely that we will ever come to an agreement in my lifetime on the worlds important issues, let's at least make an effort to figure out who we are so that we can understand why we can't see eye to eye. Baby steps.

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