FIRST PERSON/OPINION Via e-mail: There is a wonderful story in the Hebrew Scripture, what Christians call the Old Testament, about King Solomon being asked to be arbiter between two women, both of whom claimed to be the mother of the same child. Solomon listened to both arguments, then gave his ruling. The child would be split in two with a sword and half given to each woman. When the ruling was announced, one of the women shouts “No! She can keep the baby. Don’t kill it.” The speaker revealed her identity as the child’s mother by her sacrificial concern for her baby, willing for another to raise it as long as the child lived. This was, of course, Solomon’s point in issuing his ruling. I have the high privilege of being the Chaplain for the AMA Superbike Series and its two primary feeder series. I say privilege, because in my 30 years of ministry I have enjoyed serving the motorcycle road racing community more than any other job I have held. So, like many of you, I am concerned by the friction developing between the DMG leadership and the riders, OEMs, and fans of the Superbike series. I’m the first to admit my knowledge of motorcycle racing is still growing as I listen and learn from each of you.(I used to race cars so bear with me!) And I know less of the politics involved. (It is not my job to take sides. Yet I do listen to all sides.) However, I do know something about people. One of our most primal reactions as human beings is fear. Fear can be a good thing. The “fight or flight” instinct protects us from things that would hurt us like rattlesnakes, fire, and stepping into traffic. However, fear can also be bad, especially if we allow it to shut down communication. Fear develops when we sense a threat from somewhere or someone. Our defenses go up, our walls are built and instead of talking “to” each other, we find ourselves talking “at” each other, and we get nowhere. We begin to see the other person(s) as the enemy. At Road America, I had the opportunity to speak to the Red Bull Rookies and their families during their pre-race briefing. These fresh-faced speed burners are the future of motorcycle road racing and they put on the best race of the weekend resulting in a photo finish. In my remarks to this multi-cultural community I encouraged them to celebrate their diversity and learn from each other. I asked them not to be afraid of their differences but learn from one another and keep the sense of awe in discovering differences from becoming fear of those differences. If I have a word of counsel for everyone involved in the DMG/AMA discussions it would be to avoid fear of the differences being discovered. Everyone has something important to say. Everyone needs to be heard. From the DMG leadership to the OEMs to the privateer who struggles to get to the track, every party has something important to say. When we listen TO each other instead of just talk AT each other we communicate, we can solve problems, and we no longer have enemies. Imagine King Solomon being handed the responsibility of solving the DMG/AMA issue. Then imagine him taking the sword to cut AMA Superbike in two pieces. How many of us would jump up and yell “No!! Don’t kill it!” I think we all would because we care too much about this sport. Hopefully our common love for AMA Superbike and motorcycle road racing will hold the sword at bay. My .02 worth. Tim Burleson AMA Superbike Chaplain Lexington, South Carolina