This reflection is written in the style of a zen koan.

Dan and I are being strip-searched, side by side, after a visit in the federal prison in Danbury, Conn.

On cue, we follow the guard’s directed choreography to disrobe and dutifully run our fingers through our hair, open our mouths, stick out our tongues, lift our balls, bend over, spread our cheeks, lift our feet.

As we proceed through this syncopated, comic routine, Dan turns to me and says, “Keep smiling. When they’ve gotten your smile, they’ve gotten too much.”  

Same with dignity, we might add: An exposed dance in complete nakedness, utterly vulnerable and demeaning, yet clothed in righteousness with no diminishment of dignity. Or humor.