avoiding extremism

[tielan]

Whatever happened to good old ambivalence?

You know? That feeling of "I liked this about it, but no so much that, you know, and I get why it's this choice and not the other, but I'm still not happy about the results."

Why the hell do I have to be 100% on any given topic, or else I'm a hater?

Comments

[thothmes]

It went the same place as shades of gray in issues of all kinds. Things these days seem to be divided into right or wrong, with no middle ground.

You know, one of the advantages (there were advantages, but they were few and far between) of being a "child of divorce" - a phrase I hated with a passion btw - was that I learned very early that there was my mom's way and my dad's way, and even though they were different, they could both be right. The world is largely made of shades of gray, and to think in black and white terms would lead inevitably to choosing sides between two people I dearly love, a losing proposition at best.

There is right and wrong, but mostly this applies to extremes or to situations where the strong prey on the weak, and trust is callously betrayed. This is not most of life. When possible patience, tolerance, moderation, and free exercise of will as long as it does not adversely affect others should be the general approach.

I was born in 1958. My parents separated in 1960, and their divorce became final in 1962. Divorce rates have skyrocketed since then. So why has the ability to see shades of gray almost disappeared?