Unless you have just come off the river after a months-long fishing expedition, you are well aware that things are not great. In fact, things are trout-detritus crazy.
I have opinions on all the goings-on. If you read Casting Across with a discerning eye or listen to some of the more unscripted moments from the Casting Across Fly Fishing Podcast, you probably know what said opinions are. But along with that position, you also might know that I am big advocate of talking. I want conversation. Before that, however, I am an advocate of good, honest introspection.
So with those two preliminary items out of the way, I want to give you whatever the fly fishing media version of a prescription is (Prefishion? Flyscription? Piscription?):
Go fishing, but don’t escape from it all.
Think about things. What are the facts? What are the opinions? Don’t start at the end but go back to the beginning. Eliminate the straw men and red herrings and the well poisoning that so frequently saturates our discourse. Contemplate your biases. Run your perspectives to their logical conclusions. How does that work out? If it doesn’t, run the numbers again. Sort out inconsistencies when you can, and if you can’t figure out how to do so then at least acknowledge that they are there. What is the other side saying? To be fair, have you heard what the other side is saying or are you only truly informed of what your side says the other side is saying? Go ahead and think about what you would say to that person. Out of good faith, think about what you would say to their most intelligent and cogent response.
Does that sound like a fun time fishing? It might not be fun, but it is important. Because fly fishing is downstream of much more important things.
All sorts of folks are going to wade into the same water during these bizarre times. Labels are helpful, but they aren’t everything. And whoever wants to spend their time chasing down fish with tufts of feathers is someone I have a whole lot in common with, regardless of those other points of divergence. I’ve benefitted greatly over the years, and in these past few weeks, by forcing myself through the mental paces I mentioned a few paragraphs ago. Wild places are a great backdrop for all of it.
I am a confessional Christian with Biblically-informed conservative leanings but I will talk to anyone about anything at anytime. And I am confident some of the opinions I share about the hot-button issues of our day would absolutely subvert your expectations of what you think those labels mean. As much as I can, I’ll try to extend that grace to you, too.