Moderation or extremism?

As people gain wisdom, they often struggle with right vs. wrong. In my case, I’ve tended to see more of the gray in life and less of the black and white of issues, whether personal or political (is there really a difference?), and usually this leads to a moderation, a tending toward the middle. Often this is because the extremes of pretty much everything are excessively harmful in some manner. We often meet people with differing opinions and views, and by talking to them one can see another way. Sometimes this leads to what I call issue transcendence, but that is another topic.

But one need not become a fuddling moderate Demographic Average for the world to ignore (never make the papers) or focus on (Joe Average’s vote is the most important in any election). Sometimes the “right” thing to do, the “right” opinion to have, the “right” action to take isn’t easy, common, or normal. Sometimes people must stand up and point to the naked emperor. Sometimes standing up is uncomfortable, inconvenient, and lonely. Most people run far away from the charge.

Worse, people with a need to strike edgy poses adopt a culturally correct version of a politically incorrect opinion. For example, Gilette casts its women’s disposable razors with pink plastic, but for marketing to the rugged individualist American Male, it casts the razors in blue or, for the ultra-testosterone-fueled, black. Even sacred American institutions like motorcycling are a bit silly. How exactly does “weak or non-existent muffler” equate with masculinity? Real, true political incorrectness is so uncomfortable that the media (and most of your friends) run and hide when the real stuff comes out. Sad, really, that these metabehaviors are taking the place of real ideas, dialogues, and actions.

In my own life, I have encountered, with much regret initially, areas in my own life where I felt I was being inauthentic. Example abound, but perhaps the easiest to describe is people’s response to the Iraq War. Most people at this point are against the war (no one was against it more quickly than the paleoconservatives, I might add) but they continue to reap benefits such as cheap oil and do little if anything to actively reduce the continuance of said conflict, most of which is due to the region’s ‘strategic importance’ which is a euphemism for being home to the largest oil reserves on the planet, and being in proximity to America’s close ally, Israel. But, if one is against the war, what does that mean other than voicing empty unheard opinions? What more active, and perhaps more painful, ways can people do something to reduce our need for this war? Most people do incredibly little. SUV sales are dropping because gas prices went up, not because of some sort of war protest. If the war continues, and oil prices drop, I guarantee the big cars and trucks will come back. If oil prices rise, people will buy smaller cars. This has nothing to do with the war and the American soldiers we’re told to care about. This has to do with our wallets.

So, to reduce my own oil consumption, I gave up hot water. Totally. Cold showers, cold water in the sink, cold water to dry dishes. (I have no car and can’t control my thermostat.) It’s not much, but it’s one person doing something except chatting over tea.

All this is to buttress the point that moderation and extremism should be a consequence of knowledge, wisdom, and experience, not the other way around. If you believe something, if you can’t reject a behavior, strike out and adopt it even if you risk ostracism. Far easier said than done.