The blind men and the elephant

The Blind men and the elephant is an ancient story, probably from early Hinduism. I thought this story might make a point with all of the continuing controversy on CFA. First of all, let me say that I am a Zen Buddhist, and as such I don't oppose any religious group for their beliefs. I do oppose treating anyone with anything less than compassion and understanding. I also do not think that I have a lock on the truth on any topic. (By the way, a shout-out to Leigh O'Farrell, my very talented former student who made the elephant depicted above!)
  The story goes like this: There were five blind men who were blind from birth. They kept hearing the word "elephant" and did not know what it meant. They got someone to bring an elephant so they could touch it and understand the word. They agreed that each one would touch a different part and then get together to discuss the experience. The first one touched the trunk; the second touched the ear; the third touched the leg; the fourth touched the side; and the last one touched the tail.
 The first man said, "The Elephant is like a great snake with a mouth on one end."  The second man said, "No, the elephant is like a great fan moving in the air." The third said, "No, the elephant is like a tree trunk." The fourth said, "The elephant is like a tree trunk." And the last blind man said, "No. The elephant is like a rope with a tassel on one end (and it doesn't smell very good!)."
 Of course, all of them were all correct (at least in part). The picture above has a quote that I used to say in class after telling this story. "I am only one blind man, and the world is a very large elephant." We all perceive the world around us in very different ways. Our perceptions are controlled by our cultures, our religious beliefs, our educations, etc. And each of us tends to believe our own view is the correct view. But the universe (and our world) is a very large, complicated place. Many of the world's controversies are the result of our inability to accept other people's right to their ideas, attitudes, beliefs, and, yes, gender orientations. We are all right, and we are all wrong. And based on our human limitations in this suffering world, we are all doing the best we can with what we have. So enjoy your view of the elephant, but know that it is not the only view.