While reflecting on some of the thoughts of my fellow students I came across this wonderful article that I wanted to share. I know it dates me but, c'est la vie!
One Voice - On Plato & Boxing: The Art of Living in Two Planes
By Dr. Reggie Kidd
I especially loved the line where he states that Fr. Mulcahy became an effective priest because he embraced his humanity. I can't help but think that this would also make us better fathers, mothers, brothers, Christians, if we all embraced our humanity as Christ did!
Bonjour et Adieu mes Amis,
Mitch
One Voice - On Plato & Boxing: The Art of Living in Two Planes
By Dr. Reggie Kidd
In the "Heroes" episode of M*A*S*H's 10th season, the show's chaplain, Father Mulcahy, sits at the deathbed of one of his life-heroes, a retired boxer named "Gentleman" Joe Cavanaugh. As he comforts the dying boxer, Mulcahy recounts growing up as a scrawny, inner-city kid with big glasses who liked to read Plato. He loved Plato's description of an "ideal plane," which helped him imagine a better life: "rambling fields and trees. Sort of like the suburbs, only in the sky."
One of Mulcahy's challenges was that he was an easy target for the neighborhood bullies. It didn't help that he never fought back—thinking fisticuffs were "not very … Platonic."
Then one night when he was 12 his father took him to see "Gentleman" Joe in a boxing match. "Gentleman" Joe was punching his opponent at will. With the crowd yelling, "Put him away!" Joe had stopped punching and told the ref to stop the fight because the man had been hurt enough.
And I realized for the first time that it was possible to defend myself and still maintain my principles. If Plato had been a boxer, I suspect he'd have fought like you. That was when I made up my mind to keep one foot in the ideal plane and the other foot in the real world. I thought you might like to know that. And I just wanted to thank you.
Uncommon Match
Francis Mulcahy became an effective priest because he embraced his humanity. Now, the M*A*S*H scriptwriters never really allowed Father Mulcahy to have one foot "in the ideal world." But they did show the way his keeping one foot "in the real world" lent power to his ministry: from rescuing orphans to performing orderly duties when the rest of the camp was sick, even to performing an emergency tracheotomy while under fire. All the while, he struggled with how useful his life was. Even with the scriptwriters' muzzle, it always seemed to me, Father Mulcahy's foot in the real world became a pointer to another plane of existence.
One of Mulcahy's challenges was that he was an easy target for the neighborhood bullies. It didn't help that he never fought back—thinking fisticuffs were "not very … Platonic."
Then one night when he was 12 his father took him to see "Gentleman" Joe in a boxing match. "Gentleman" Joe was punching his opponent at will. With the crowd yelling, "Put him away!" Joe had stopped punching and told the ref to stop the fight because the man had been hurt enough.
And I realized for the first time that it was possible to defend myself and still maintain my principles. If Plato had been a boxer, I suspect he'd have fought like you. That was when I made up my mind to keep one foot in the ideal plane and the other foot in the real world. I thought you might like to know that. And I just wanted to thank you.
Uncommon Match
Francis Mulcahy became an effective priest because he embraced his humanity. Now, the M*A*S*H scriptwriters never really allowed Father Mulcahy to have one foot "in the ideal world." But they did show the way his keeping one foot "in the real world" lent power to his ministry: from rescuing orphans to performing orderly duties when the rest of the camp was sick, even to performing an emergency tracheotomy while under fire. All the while, he struggled with how useful his life was. Even with the scriptwriters' muzzle, it always seemed to me, Father Mulcahy's foot in the real world became a pointer to another plane of existence.
I especially loved the line where he states that Fr. Mulcahy became an effective priest because he embraced his humanity. I can't help but think that this would also make us better fathers, mothers, brothers, Christians, if we all embraced our humanity as Christ did!
Bonjour et Adieu mes Amis,
Mitch
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