This, our world in shades of grey...

Through time, I have become increasingly aware of the fact that we live in a world that is almost free of absolutes. The absolute black and white, and right and wrong regions of our existence are exceedingly small indeed. Every rule has an exception, and every exception possesses an exception of its own. I'm not saying that there are no absolute wrongs or rights in life, I'm just stating that when life is broken down objectively, the lines begin to blur.

A murderer is wrong, no doubt about it...right?
But when it comes down to each situation, no one can actually testify to what was happening at that very moment, in that exact situation...except for the man or woman breathing that moment's air. Even two people who are experiencing the same thing can not testify to the other person's experience in every single aspect. We are individuals, plain and simple.

At the very most, all we can really say about murder is that it is illegal. That statement is true, but saying that murder is wrong is too ambiguous. That sentence implies an absolute, and murder can not be considered wrong in every single instance.
This is an obvious example, but would murdering Adolf Hitler have been wrong? It's still murder, taking another human's life, but he was a tyrant who preformed mass genocide.

This problem, of how hazy the lines between right and wrong really are, is why it is illogical to judge other people's actions, opinions, and life choices. Let's assume, just for a moment, that judging someone isn't rude and petty. The truth is that judging someone is impossible. No human being can correctly testify to any other human being's experience of any situation.

That is the essence of passing a judgement on someone else, after all; saying that you're viewpoint, opinion, point of view, life choice, or action is right, and theirs is wrong.

However, despite all of this, the judicial system in America is extremely important. It is very necessary to be able to pass judgment on someone who has acted outside of the law. Without this power, criminals would have no accountability for their actions. But the complexity of the judicial system itself testifies to how difficult it really is to put the label "right" or "wrong" on someone's actions.

I often find it difficult to stand silently by when I hear casual statements that generalize people into absolute categories without even contemplating how absurd it is to do so.
For example, the other day I heard this statement,
"People who use profanity have limited vocabularies."
This sentence implies that every single person who has ever used profanity has a limited vocabulary. This is obviously impossible to say. In order to correctly make this statement, one would have to give a vocabulary test to every single person who has ever uttered a cuss word.
This absurdity is obvious to me, but maybe I'm the only one who immediately hears these things in every conversation I have.

Now, that's not saying that I never pass judgements on others. Another truth in life is the ever present hypocrisy we encounter every day. Often, though, my judgements are even more petty than those made by others. It is my nature to acknowledge the logic in other people's actions, opinions, life choices, and viewpoints, so often my judgements are made out of a personal dislike for the individual.
Because of this, I will be bashing the person I dislike, but even though I desperately want to hate them, I have to respect their viewpoints. It's kind of like I have to separate the person from their situation; bash the person, but remain objective about the situation. Over-objectivity makes hating people complicated.

In the end, I very much like how unclear the world really is.

It gives us complexity, and it gives each person the benefit of a unique situation. It is the gift of individuality; the privilege of being separate from the general population and handed a blank slate on which to draw a life that is different from every other life that has ever been lived.
That is truly a priceless gift indeed. Preserve that gift with everything you have, and never steal it from anyone else.


On that note, I wrote a poem about this very thing; how absolutes are small, hazy, and ever changing.

Shades of grey

No blacks or whites, no wrongs or rights,
I stand under a sunset of grey.
I smile and chastise the thought of embracing any other sky.

With life wrapped in spheres of absolutes,
Philosophy would die.
Men with no fire of will, no pointed opinions,
No illogical prejudices;
The echoing screech of robots asexually filling the planet with
Robotic clones and more passionless life.

Tear it down off the wall,
This thought,
Crumple it,
Toss it away.

Dance with me joyfully,
Saluting the shades of grey that fill our skies with heartbeats.
Embrace the hazy edges of our confusing world!

Rejoice in the ambiguous nature of personality,
The missing clarity in love and death.

I raise my eyes to the birds,
The planes gulped up by the clouds,
Stunning!

What perfect imperfection, this, our world in shades of grey.