Cycling through our, at the moment, not-so random, random quote generator are two somewhat fitting quotes. One by Alfred Kinsey that basically says nature exists as a continuum and that as humans we try and force a wide spectrum of divergent elements into neat little categories. Usually these categories represent polar opposites, and if we’re lucky, a middle ground, which is really incapable of describing much of any thing. Kinsey was talking about human sexuality, and while he did a lot to change the perceptions of sexuality, he wasn’t able to fully circumvent the human desire to categorize itself and its world. A seven point scale is better than a three, two, or even one point scale, but there are so many varieties and possibilities that just about anything would somehow fall short.
Chris added another quote from the breakfast club that conveyed a very similar message, but approached this problem from a completely different perspective. It said, basically, that we see things as we wish to: in the simplest, most convenient terms, when in fact we are individuals comprised of multiple traits and behaviors.
Things exist in shades of grey, between the darkness and the light (I’ll any non-Chris person a hug if the can figure out that allusion and drop me an email), and we as humans force everything into categories of black and white because it’s easy, because it gives us power, because it makes us feel safe and in charge of a very scary world. The biggest problem with this is, of course, that things don’t exist on the planes of total lightness, and total darkness.
I don’t have any answers, unfortunately, but then we wouldn’t have much purpose in hanging around here if we did.