andrewchang Mon Sep 14, 2009 12:19 amWe recognize distinctions between objects through the faculty of sight. It might seem the most obvious thing in the world, but if you really think about it—the only way we can even see is through our ability to know the differences between colors. That’s how I know that my pen is right next to me—because it’s blue and because I can see it against my black desk. And if you look at it that way, the world wouldn’t be our world without the capability of visual comparison.
Now to the point—the importance of color distinction isn’t limited to our ability to see and make sense of objects. On a more important level, we ought to apply this concept to intellectual discourse and the way we look at the world. In other words, it would be asinine to see the world in black and white given the availability of our worldly spectrum.
The conceptualization of seeing the world in black and white can be awfully pervasive. Humans by nature are both good and bad, and so without a middle ground we can contend that it’s logically impossible to understand ourselves. From this premise, we can move on to see that the greatest mistakes in the world’s history were made through either lionization or demonization: Nazi Germany, the Red Scare, the Salem Witch Trials. And let us not delude ourselves for a second that this crippling ideology is confined to the historical sphere of the past.
Take politics for example: we have the Republicans and the Democrats. It would be an overarching generalization to say that every member of a party is a closed-minded bigot when it comes to the policies of an opposing party, and vice-versa—but with some people it wouldn’t be too far from the truth. We get it—that you didn’t vote for Obama and that you’re not pleased with his policies—but do you really have to insist that he’s a socialist and that every single facet of his policy is anti-America? And we also understand that Republican policy tends to favor the welfare of big business—but do you really have to insist that they’re against the very concept of a working family? The absolute stupidity of black-and-white arguments is a leading killer when it comes to the legitimacy of political arguments. The lengths to which we go to prove our beliefs in an ideal can sometimes destroy that ideal in and of itself: for when a country divides itself through bigotry and sophomoric name-calling, it forgets its initial hope for unity and freedom in solidarity.
So, please, please, let’s just remember that we have the power to compromise. To understand the necessity of approaching everything, even enemies, with an open mind. To add color to black and white and see the hues which the world has to offer.
Now to the point—the importance of color distinction isn’t limited to our ability to see and make sense of objects. On a more important level, we ought to apply this concept to intellectual discourse and the way we look at the world. In other words, it would be asinine to see the world in black and white given the availability of our worldly spectrum.
The conceptualization of seeing the world in black and white can be awfully pervasive. Humans by nature are both good and bad, and so without a middle ground we can contend that it’s logically impossible to understand ourselves. From this premise, we can move on to see that the greatest mistakes in the world’s history were made through either lionization or demonization: Nazi Germany, the Red Scare, the Salem Witch Trials. And let us not delude ourselves for a second that this crippling ideology is confined to the historical sphere of the past.
Take politics for example: we have the Republicans and the Democrats. It would be an overarching generalization to say that every member of a party is a closed-minded bigot when it comes to the policies of an opposing party, and vice-versa—but with some people it wouldn’t be too far from the truth. We get it—that you didn’t vote for Obama and that you’re not pleased with his policies—but do you really have to insist that he’s a socialist and that every single facet of his policy is anti-America? And we also understand that Republican policy tends to favor the welfare of big business—but do you really have to insist that they’re against the very concept of a working family? The absolute stupidity of black-and-white arguments is a leading killer when it comes to the legitimacy of political arguments. The lengths to which we go to prove our beliefs in an ideal can sometimes destroy that ideal in and of itself: for when a country divides itself through bigotry and sophomoric name-calling, it forgets its initial hope for unity and freedom in solidarity.
So, please, please, let’s just remember that we have the power to compromise. To understand the necessity of approaching everything, even enemies, with an open mind. To add color to black and white and see the hues which the world has to offer.