They met at a party while in graduate school, she pursuing a Master of Arts in English, and he a Juris Doctor in Law. She loved books and poetry; he loved law and logic. A common quest for higher education and career preparation brought them together, and countless hours of study and discussion in the university library cemented their bond. But all was not well.
He expounded on the moral soundness and pragmatics of just war theory, but she wanted nothing to do with it — she knew only love and peace. He laid out a masterpiece of argumentation discoursing on the biological and ethical value of unborn humans and how they must be protected by rule of law, but she humbly disagreed — she knew only freedom of choice. He waxed eloquent on knowable truth, the law of non-contradiction, and the law of the excluded middle, but she smiled and shook her head — she knew only relativism and pluralism.
Her stubborn refusal to adopt his carefully and clearly argued positions irritated him to no end. The blind spots in her intellect and vision were highly problematic for him. It kept him up at night. It was a wedge driving them apart, and he saw no good coming of it.
Several nights later, while having a quiet dinner at his apartment, John chose to open Pandora’s box: “Amy, I care about you deeply, but — ”
“No, John, let me say something before you say anything else. I know we do not see eye to eye on everything. I know we have significant differences of belief and opinion. I know that. I see that. I can tell it bothers you, but, John… I love you. I have never loved someone so much. I love everything about you. You are the most intelligent and logical man I know. You are deep, thoughtful, and caring. You are handsome and charming and fun to be around. I could not dream of a more perfect man. We can work this out.”
Knowing full well that he was not half the man she saw, he decided then that he could live with her blind spots after all.
Fred Meyer works with autistic elementary school students, has an AA in Teaching, is completing a BA in English, and plans on spending the rest of his life writing short stories, essays, and memoirs.
