Ever notice how your friend who believes September 11th was an inside job is the same dude who believes the moon landing was faked and the children from Sandy Hook Elementary School are actually still alive?

I can’t believe I’m about to go here.

Mike Brown. Darren Wilson. Eric Garner. Trayvon Martin. George Zimmerman. Tamir Rice.

In this blog we share our observations from everyday life and the lessons they teach us. Usually those lessons are positive, optimistic, homespun. And that’s nice because it makes people smile and we’re pretty much guaranteed not to ruffle any feathers. Today is different because I’m not going to let my sensitivity for feelings dull the sharpness of the lesson that’s currently presenting itself. 

Our world is made of dualities. A duality is when two concepts or aspects of something oppose or contrast one another. We have night and we have day. There is black and white. There is off and on. There is Downton Abbey and Keeping Up with the Kardashians.

Usually we only like ONE side of any coin, but the truth is we NEED both. Because if there was no such thing as sadness, we would never know what happiness is. If there was no such thing as boredom, we would never know what it’s like to feel entertained. And without corruption, there would be no fairness.

If all we knew was one thing, all the time, there would just be… nothing. Numbness.

Back to your friend the conspiracy theorist. Factual investigations don’t influence his stance on things. His worldview does. If you’re a person that’s naturally suspicious of authority, you’re more likely to believe that kind of stuff. There’s nothing right or wrong about it. It’s just truth. Just like how a person who believes humans are responsible for the breakdown of the ozone layer and subsequent warming of the planet is more likely to buy reusable shopping bags or drive a Prius.

We’re likely to stand on the side of any issue that’s most consistent with our worldview. (And it’s kind of like declaring what your favorite food is. No one can prove you wrong.)

The same is true with Michael Brown and Darren Wilson. Or Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman. Whatever “side” you’re inclined to take was determined long before these respective events took place.

But that’s where we’re messing up.

Not all dualities are as absolute as black and white; right and wrong; true and false.

“The opposite of a correct statement is a false statement. But the opposite of a profound truth may well be another profound truth.” – Niels Bohr

Take, for example, justice and mercy. This is a duality because they’re two opposite ideals/virtues. So which one is right and which one is wrong? Which one is more important to society? Which side should I be on?

Not that easy, is it?

That’s because BOTH are good.

Of course, any good thing can be taken too far. No one would wish for too much of either. But no sooner would we wish for not enough of either. That’s why BALANCE is so important.

Maybe that’s what this conversation about black men and police officers and violence and riots is all about?

Maybe both sides are right?

Or maybe they’re both wrong?

OR – OR! – Maybe you don’t really know where you come out on all this. And it’s okay that you don’t really know. Because none of your friends or family members are going to think you’re stupid if you’re unable to arrive at a conclusion. Just like they don’t think you’re stupid because you don’t have the formula for breaking the sound barrier. Because these are complicated issues. And appreciating the complexity of an issue is often the most intelligent way to treat it.

(A guy can wish.)

“The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald

You have a first-rate intelligence, right?