More than 50 Shades of Grey

I've decided its not the black and white issues we can't deal with -

it's the grey.

We can't stand ambiguity or duality.

We want certainty.

We want to know that someone is either good 

or they're bad,

either innocent or guilty,

either right or wrong,
either infallible or incompetent,
either 'them' or 'us'...

We can't stand living with the reality that 

someone who we think is a bigot may have a valid point,

someone who is genuinely a good kid could make an impulsive poor decision,

someone who is generally measured and careful could over-react and lose control...

We don't like to acknowledge that
the confusion,
fear,
intolerance,
prejudice,
hardness of heart,
race to judgment,
blindness to suffering
and
unwillingness to compromise
can be harbored in the same heart as
love,
compassion,
disdain for injustice,
regret,
empathy,
grief
and
a desire to do the right thing.

The emotions we see being played out
on the TV screens every night,
all of them,
aren't simply free floating randomly
in the molecular structure of the atmosphere.

They live inside each of us.

"Not everything that is acknowledged can be changed,
but nothing can be changed until it is acknowledged".
James Baldwin

We HAVE to find a better balance.

All our 'littles' deserve a better way of living in community
than what they're currently seeing.


 I refuse to believe its too late.