Context is the container that holds the text
To get context, to understand the field in which the text, the conversation, the project, the enterprise, the tragedy, exists, is an essential first step that so few people take.
Context, like synergy, asks us to start with the whole. This includes the arc of history. The ecology of the situation. To gather all of the puzzle pieces first and then to step back and make sense of the whole.
At the simplest level, to give a word context. The bark of a tree, the bark of a dog, or a barque – a type of boat. Which one are we speaking of?
At the level of most of the current breakdowns we have in our society, the context is complex.
To understand policing in the USA, we need to go back to its origins. We need to factor in the origins of the USA from colonisation. The ‘baked-in’ systems-wide racism is so pervasive it is almost invisible to all except for the victims. The almost fanatical belief that gun ownership is not just a right, but the only way. The Wild West archetype of the strong man. The religious fanaticism. The deep colonial impulse of ownership, not just of land, but of people as property without any rights. And more…
Almost every human I have known has found themselves reduced to crazy misunderstanding because they or their conversation or activity has been placed in the wrong context.
No one likes it. We feel unheard…irrelevant…invisible..misunderstood.
The most respectful thing we can do for others is to be sure we take the time to understand the full context. To ask questions, listen till our own story is silenced in our listening.
This act of self-discipline is also an act of the restoration of dignity to others.
Photo taken June 11th, 2020
