Black and White - an Antiquated Fantasy
Part TWO of - So, We're Not in "Pleasantville" Anymore?"
Who wouldn’t want to step back and enjoy one of their best days as a young child? Whether we remember any or not, we each had some relatively good days. Back then, life was pretty simple. Soothing mother’s voice good, angry voice of a visitor, bad. Journey through birth canal terribly unsettling. First time nursing while being cuddled by mother - heavenly. Soiled diaper, down right shitty. Dry pull-up, a warm blankie, and adoring eyes of a father - all “swell” per the parlance of “Pleasantville.”
Through the years, experiential learning expanded to things like screeching tires bad, piggyback ride good. Big growling dog scary, licking puppy wonderful. Nanna driving into driveway good, police car driving into same driveway, bad. And, we had to learn how to analyze information in light of it’s source.
As we turned from little people to grown-ups, we either developed a little wisdom along the way or became particularly vulnerable to those with agendas that didn’t include our welfare. I suspect some people have never quite worked their way through this basic stage of development.
Please step back with me again. I dare say, everyone reading this post remembers sitting down in a classroom, all set to endure another boring class when the teacher plops down the dreaded - “pop-quiz.” Is there anyone here that wasn’t elated to see that every question was - True or False?
Mere guessing would take anyone beyond the ultra embarrassing fifty percent threshold. And lots of people back then were perfectly OK with being correct even seventy percent of the time. Unfortunately, many people set extremely low bars for themselves, not just in school. When it comes to the big issues, like those involving relationships, the survival of our democracy, or even our planet, maybe learning the necessary facts is a worthwhile target.
On so many levels, we are all the same when it comes to dealing with complex issues or people. It is so convenient to lump concepts or people together - good idea, bad idea, good person, bad person, as opposed to thinking - maybe it depends. That person after all is way bigger than the matter in question. So many relationships and disputes have gone sour as we try to over-simplify that which is not even gray, let alone black and white.
We like to check boxes, almost like true/false quiz questions when we encounter issues of utmost importance. And once we’ve checked our boxes, it’s like we’ve used permanent ink. Political parties, information on climate change, health care, abortion rights and gender issues are constantly evolving - maybe circumstances warrant that we at least consider checking a different box.
What common thread runs through conflicts of all types? Could it be the over-simplification of complex problems? That was never a problem in “Pleasantville.”
“A mind set in concrete, will never cure.”
This is excellent Mark. And funnily enough, exactly what I’m working on right now. Thanks for sharing.
"Unfortunately, many people set extremely low bars for themselves, not just in school. When it comes to the big issues, like those involving relationships, the survival of our democracy, or even our planet, maybe learning the necessary facts is a worthwhile target."
Some people set the bar right so low we have a good chance of self-destructing as a species. I write not because I want attention, rather, because I am worried that we are going to destroy the tiny ball of rock we all depend on for survival. This planet is full of beauty that is taken for granted by a huge swath of my fellow sapiens.