the Other Choice

Over and over again, cultures have been created as the other option to whatever the existing culture has been."stop being Babylonian, come be Persian!" "Puritan is so last century, we're all Quakers now" Today, there are so many splinters and offshoots in every area of culture that it's hard to keep up with all the hypenated subcultures. Trying to pin someone down to a category is like decyphering a complex Starbucks order. Don't misunderstand me, freedom to make choices and forge new pathways is fabulous! There are days, though, when life would be easier with the certainty of fewer categories.

As a child, i lived with the certainty that there were two political parties, two genders, maybe five different kinds of Christian churches, school was either public or private, food was either home grown or from the store. The Other was always there, though. That neighbor who voted for Ralph Nader, that family down the street who homeschooled. For a while, my family bought our food at a cooperative, and it always felt like some kind of secret club. the 2000s seem to be the era of celebrating the outliers, for good and for ill.

so, what is certain in an age of uncertainty? IS there still absolute Truth in an age of hyphens? Paul said to the Corinthians that knowledge will pass away but that faith, hope and Love abide. i do not have to choose division, i do not have to choose fear, i can choose to cling to the One Who is Love.

This post is part of the weekly Five Minute Friday link-up!