One of the things that distresses me about the news these days is the polarized presentation of an issue. Total black and white, yes or no, good or evil, for or against, left or right. I'm sure you could go on.
Except that I did go on, here, and here. At some length. Maybe in other posts as well. Except I'd started this blog on much the same topic and happily burbled away. Then only as I was proofreading did I get the feeling that I'd done this before. Now I have to decide how much of this post I want to keep. Hmmm.
Those posts were written only a few years ago, and things have only got worse. Trump is driving much of it, with his peculiarly demented world view, and any number of toadies willing to dangle from his coat-tails. I keep on telling myself that the downfall of all dictators is when their followers will not shoot into the crowd, or enforce their orders. I keep thinking Trump has to be getting close to that line.
In some ways trying to follow the issues is like a denial of service attack on your brain, which I talked about here. Trying to discover every detail of every position between the extremes would leave you unable to make a decision because you'd always be floundering around trying to keep up with an ever changing situation. That some organizations deliberately and with malice aforethought flood the zone with shit doesn't help.
So the trick is to find the right level of detail to think about an issue. Something more detailed than A or B, and yet not sucked down the rabbit hole of endless detail. After all, to quote my mom, eventually you have to sh*t or get off the pot. Once that's done, put the issue aside and move on with your life.
I start with Mercutio and say "A plague on both your houses!" My thinking is that almost any position in between the extremes is almost certainly better in almost every way, as long as you don't mind some people thinking you're being wishy-washy. Then again, if someone accuses you of being wishy-washy they are likely from one of those extreme ends. But think of this. Updating your position in the light of new evidence is a strong indication of maturity and rationality.
In short, remember Desiderata. Channel that.
Some recent black and white photos for you, with at least some shades of grey.
1.
Of the Day
Driftwood (NZ)
Film
Linda
Newfoundland
Twillingate.
Polar bears
Eagles
Why ever didn't I publish this, and maybe I did
90 days, or so ago
Flower
I am still under the impression that I should be informed and therefore I continue to consume the news. Though, I am beginning to think that when the objective of some people is to stay in the news at any cost, maybe the sane response is ignore them.
ReplyDeleteI am drawn to 5 (enjoyable contrast), panorama (nicely done), 11 (soothing and captivating). Cheers