203 Either – Or

Often people polarize things into

Do /Don’t — Yes /No — Right /Wrong,  … annnd, you’re for me or you’re against me.

That’s one of the major causes of conflicts, both inter-personal and inter-national.

These are the brittle good/bad reactions that accompany the inexperienced (aka: nouveau riche or nouveau powerful … or nouveau parents!)

Every time we think our Either – Or conclusions are God given and God authorized, ‘reality’ intervenes and we all learn.

In World War I the point was to nobly march standing up into the machine guns’ fire from the other side.

If you tried to duck, your own person would shoot you dead.

SO better a possible /probable situation than a certainty of death.

The slogans were variously: Got Mit Uns, In God We Trust, etc.

Then around World War II the word Strategy was introduced into our thinking.

Ducking bullets now changed from cowardice to clever strategy.

Life is a lot more than one point of view.

Good writers can get me to consider only one particular point of view to achieve their aims in writing their stories.

And I readily read them.

And then read someone else’s novel the next day.

I believe if I read enough novels I become immune to any one point of view.

When you next feel you’re in an impossible situation consider AND – AND instead of Either – Or.

See how quickly things clear up.

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To reinforce this read any two below:

# 19 Expectations – 20 The ‘Gift’ of Knowledge –  45 Problems – 90 Good/Bad – 109 Understanding

128 And-And – 172 Sky or Steel? – 174 Good/Bad Part 2 – 182 Grey