Nuance

Very little is black and white.  However, if I look at the news or social media, this doesn’t seem to be the case.  People talk as if everything is cut and dry.  You are either for or against vaccines.  You either believe in climate change or you deny it.  You are either a Democrat or a Republican.  You either hate Trump or you are a racist.  Really?  These are my only options? 

Of course not.  There is so much in between.  And most people, probably fall somewhere in between.  But, the loudest voices seem to come from those who stand strongly in one camp or the other, and try to project these narrow parameters onto everyone else.   

Everyone else dwells in the nuance sphere.  I trust these people.  People less sure of themselves.  People who are unsure of what to make of the plethora of information we have at our fingertips.  People who recognize that we don’t really know the truth about much.  People who are trying to discern for themselves what information to base their actions on. 

It's clear to me how people became so sure of themselves.  We have been made to believe everything is black and white.  Good and evil.  Right and left.  But, we have been deceived.  A fake divide has been imposed on us.  It is not accurate.  We mostly agree.  It is details we disagree on.  And those details have been exaggerated to such an extent, some are ready to die for their “side”.  Calm down.  You don’t have enough information to die for any cause.   

We can know things.  For yourself.  You know the truth, for you.  But that is only your truth.  Once you try to impose that which you know, for yourself, to be true, onto others, you cross the line.  When you do this, what you are saying is, “I know what is best for you, because you are too stupid to figure it out for yourself.  Let's legislate my truth.  It's for your own good.”   

No thanks.  While I cherish your right to share your OPINION, I reserve the right to judge your opinion.  I question your motives.  Mostly, people just want to be right.  Most of this is ego bullshit.  Check yourself.  Are you really doing any good by perpetuating the fake divide?  Is being right, closing your mind off from understanding that we are all perceiving differently?  Are you desperately grasping to an ideology because that’s just what you’ve always done and questioning it, or changing your opinion would mean you were wrong or misinformed in the past? 

Finally, the things that I have been most concerned with, for decades, are now the main topics of social discourse, but it really hard to talk to most people about it, because they refuse to have nuanced conversation.  The moment I don't echo back their opinion, the conversation is over.  It’s disappointing.  I know you are out there though.  The silent majority.  People too wise to open their mouth.  I get it.  I look forward to the day when we can engage in CIVIL, productive discourse.