Part 1.

Just as in a car's differential, where wheels can turn at different speeds yet the vehicle still tracks true, our inner clocks can speed up or slow down—teen years stretch while later years compress—yet a shared, "master" reality still holds us together.
By Trevor Forrester on 10/5/2021
The "differential of life" is what allows all human beings to relate to one another even though we each exist in our own reality. It could be called a master or common reality. When looking at how someone who has lived and experienced reality on one extreme can ever find a common ground on which to identify with some one from the other extreme we see this "differential of life" in use.

As I seek to explore this concept of a "differential of life" I would like to break it down into a series of topics. Firstly, I'd like to explore how this mechanism works between people from the same culture but different backgrounds. Secondly and in a later post I will explore how this mechanism works for people from totally different cultural and economic backgrounds. Thirdly, in a even in later post I hope to explore how the "differential of life" works within the context of a spiritual or religious environment.

So on to the first topic in trying to understand how this mechanism affects us when it comes to two people from the same culture but different backgrounds.

Case Study: Ia Drang (1965)

The Differential of Life is not just about calendars—it is about companionship under strain. Nowhere is this clearer than in soldiering, where time seems to dilate and compress in the same hour. In the Battle of Ia Drang (Vietnam, 1965), men lived at radically different inner speeds—fear and resolve, seconds that felt like days—yet moved as one. That coherence was not uniformity; it was trust, duty, and leadership forming a shared centre.

Lt. Gen. Hal Moore earned the trust of his men; the unit’s “wheels” could turn at different speeds because their common hub held. Command Sgt. Maj. Basil L. Plumley embodied steady courage—an inner clock that refused to panic, giving others traction. Ed “Too Tall” Freeman and Bruce Crandall (Medal of Honor) flew into hot landing zones to resupply and evacuate the wounded—decisive acts that effectively greased the gears for everyone else to keep moving. Sgt. Ernie Savage, suddenly in command, held his cut-off platoon together under withering fire until rescue—proof that one steady hub can keep many wheels aligned. Joseph Galloway, a reporter, picked up a rifle when the moment demanded it—showing that, at the centre, moral reality binds even those not bound by orders.

In crisis, the differential either works—or the axle snaps. What holds? Shared purpose higher than self, sacrificial leadership, and the refusal to abandon the slowest, the most wounded, or the most afraid. When that centre is present, people moving at very different inner speeds still arrive together.

What emerges is not romance but moral geometry. Plumley’s presence functioned like the differential in a vehicle: distributing load, equalizing motion, and preventing spinout. Personal strength was not hoarded; it was *translated* into stability for others. In moments when time seemed to accelerate—minutes feeling like hours—this deliberate “slowing” to meet the most vulnerable preserved life and gave meaning to sacrifice.

Yet we see throughout the world both today and in history where one person has put their life on the line for another. Social equality does not play any part here except in the case of the most bigoted individuals.

What we have here is the greatest example of the teaching of Jesus of Nazareth. I am often caused to wonder how people such as this are able to reconcile within themselves the denial of self for the betterment of others. Does it come from a deeper understanding of who they are or is it some inbuilt quirk within their personality. People such as this despite having come from both extremes from within a society show that it is possible for everybody to put aside personal bias, opinion and outlook.

This concept of being blood brothers or a band of brothers holds great significance for those of us alive today. This ability to deny self is very rare in our secular society and in a western world of the "I" generation. Here people are encouraged to satisfy self, meaning the concept of the differential of life has large ramifications.

We are faced today in western society with an ever increasing number of people who would go to any length to achieve their own personal goals. They are prepared to sacrifice the rights of others and the freedoms of others so that they can have what they want.

The philosophical implications here of the denial of self are of great import and are today often forgotten. If western society or any other societies are to grow more caring then this paradigm needs to be explored. It will not be until there is a greater focus in what we can do for others that we as a society in general will come to full maturity.

Trevor.
Author: Trevor Forrester BMin AdvDipTh.