Dan,

I agree. The world is not as simple as black and white. If it were, (to carry this metaphor) the world would be devoid of any of the infinite number of other colors. When I was young, the world was a simpler place, and I saw things mostly as black and white. As I matured, and began to understand just a few of the complexities of life on this planet, the amount of grey increased significantly. Now, the older I get, and the more information I receive and analyze, the more convinced I am that black and white are the exceptions, and that grey, standing in for the infinite palate of colors, encompass the preponderance of the complexity of life, whether it’s biology, ecology, geology - or socially, like politics, faith, and the related subjects that draw out the coarsest behavior of the participants on this bulletin board.

TK,

I disagree with you. I think it is simple-minded to believe this incredibly complex world is a simple as black and white. Particularly when ALL the facts, not just the preferred and selected facts, are known, the world, or a particular issue is generally anything but black and white. If significant issues like this war, and terrorism, are really so black and white, I would have to conclude that intelligent people would not disagree. Given the same facts - and the world being so black and white - then intelligent people would arrive at the same conclusion. While I at times do question the intelligence of some people who disagree with me, my more objective self knows full well that many people whose intelligence I must and do respect, find compelling and persuasive reasons to support conclusions opposed to mine. I submit that could not happen if the world was as simple as black and white, with all relevant facts known or not.

Sincerely,

Salmo g.