House of Charity Episode 2

Same story, came from digitalagape.blogspot.com:

I'm not sure what I'd do if I had all the convinction of a Southern Baptist preacher as I was explaining my point of view to someone, and they didn't buy it.

Of course, I could be speaking out of my authority. I could be a classically-trained physicist attempting to shed light on Church doctrine, or a Michigan factory worker explaining what life is like in contemporary Buenos Aires.

Speaking outside of experience, more so than my authority.

Authority seems like a much bigger issue. Who we listen to, who's point of view we find valuable, this seems to say quite a bit about ourselves. For example, there's the bit that religious types like to invoke, about Divine authority, showing the importance of God in their lives, there are the people in my life that can tell me what to do and how to do it (to some degree parents, friends, and employers) although whether or not I choose to heed their advice, naturally, could go either way.

Then there's the bit that I've been given based on my position in life--as a high school or college senior (especially in college as a chemistry major), as an athlete, as one of the 'smart kids', or, near as I can tell, as a white male on track for fiscal success. There are people, most of the time younger people on the same path as my own, looking for pointers as they navigate the pitfalls.

This last bit is the difficult part to understand, and appreciate. Especially when a large part of my current position (that of an Americorps Volunteer at the House of Charity) involves making decisions that can radically affect other people's lives--once in awhile giving advice that, if inaccurate, could send someone on a long walk to nowhere on a cold night.

It's a strange position to find oneself in, when a fifty year old man that has spent nearly a quarter century as a Teamster is trusting me for advice on how to care for his rash (the Plan of Action there is to recommend he see a doctor). Or the lady that believes me when I tell her that the House of Charity is a safe place for her to rest for awhile, only to be woke up by a full-scale assault in progress. To be given so much trust by so many strangers who have seen more, done more, and lived more interesting lives than I may ever.

Somehow, because I'm a staff person at the House of Charity, my words count for the people that stay there. The incredible opportunity to dispense advice, or to give words of encouragement, or to simply have people laugh at my jokes, all reflect the odd position of being an authority figure among those that are, sometimes literally, twice or three times my age.