There is division in the world.
Your side/my side statements of facts that are absolutes. But are our facts absolutes? Does the division really have to divide us?
I have my guilty pleasures. One of them is occasionally binge watching on Netflix when I find a good show. My latest has been Madam Secretary. (Good show by the way, if not a little bit Cinderella in its ability to get to resolutions within the time frame.)
The thing that grabbed me is Madam Secretary wants “rainbows and unicorns for everyone”, but is not shy about being strong and saying no to people, but the clincher was that her husband is a religious ethics professor. Ooooh, we now have a philosophy component in which to examine current events. I’m in love!
The situations presented are complex. There are no total good guys or total bad guys. Everyone is a complex jumble of stories from only their frame of reference. Even the ethics professor is forced to compromise what he considers his absolutes in order to save lives.
What value are these absolutes to human kind? Absolutes allow us the freedom of not having to deal with the wall of our box, which we have created for ourselves. In other words, we have given ourselves permission “Not to Think” past a certain point.
Have you labeled a group of people BAD? That absolute then frees you to not take-in any further information about them or any individual in the group.
Take something simple like “I do not lie.” Seems like that would be a safe absolute. Anyone who is a good person should strive for that, right?
So if you are the priest being questioned by the Nazi’s as to whether the Trapp family is hiding in your monastery, you should just tell them the truth, right?
Absolutes are dangerous and often wrong. There is no righteousness about saying you’re absolute on any topic. You can say. you are absolutely trying to do what you perceive to be right. But then again, is your perception correct?
Where we focus is reality, at least for us. Give leeway to others for their stories and learn to forgive yourself and others for mis-perceptions. Heck, we wouldn’t even watch a movie if it did not have hiccups and drama. Can we expect our life to be any less intriguing?
We are all traveling a wonderfully complex intertwining of stories. Keep your walls thin and always seek to understand situations before falling back on the wall of your singular perception.
Am I right? Absolutely…lol
Enjoy the journey! Hugs, Pam (The Roadside Philosopher)