Day 70: Living in the Shades of Gray

I am a woman of strong opinions. Rarely does a topic come up that I do not have a strong feeling for one way or the other. In fact, I tend to distrust or even dislike people who are wishy washy about things, refusing to take a stand. While I do realize life is lived in the shades of gray and not the black and white, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go through life believing in things. My opinions are never completely hard and fast. I may be staunchly to the left on a particular topic, but I can listen to your arguments and find something about it I agree with. This does not make me a hypocrite, but there is no doubt that I am a woman of many contradictions.

The rest of this blog could be filled with lists of my beliefs and the point of contention within each that I side with the “enemy.” The exceptions are not the point, the message is that I am not afraid to stand up and shout that I am anti NRA, pro hand gun legislation, but yet used to want a gun and would love to go target shooting. Anyone who behaves in an extremist way frightens me. You can’t always be right, no argument is 100% regardless of how many points of support your argument has.

I used to joke about my contradictions and my husband has definitely pointed out a few, though sometimes in a less jocular way that employs phrases such as, “ what the fuck are you talking about,” “do you even hear what you’re saying?” and my favorite, “ you’re arguing my damn point for me.” I get it, I vacillate a bit, but these are complex issues. Take heart John Kerry I totally get it. You can’t just make up your mind on something delicate and complicated and never waver or see the other side. More people should acknowledge the other side instead of simply being yes men to the Ann Coulter’s and Michael Moore’s of the world.

So if I tell you that I am anti-hunting, but am a meat eater and get my meat at the grocery store in plastic wrap as nature intended I understand the contradiction. I also secretly want to go on a hunting safari in Africa, but I won’t respect myself after. Even so, life is all about the shades of gray and that is where I’m living. Nothing is certain, nothing is guaranteed and sometimes if you cling so deftly to your position you blind yourself to reality. I’m not asking you to be best friends with the other side, just recognize that like you they are just people with opinions. None of us has the answer, we’re just answering the questions in a different way.