Nuance as a Product of Peace

I have said previously that I love nuanced discussion of differing perspectives, but I am able to take that position largely because of the general peacefulness of my life.

Revolutionaries seldom deal in nuances. I don’t recall a time when the system was threatened seriously by, “He’s really not a very nice man, and we probably could do a bit better by following that other slightly nicer guy over there.” People don’t walk away from tradition and family and security - and stay in hellish situations and intense persecution - because of nuances. They only do that when faced with fleeing ultimate evil or embracing ultimate good. The early saints and prophets saw and taught much in black and white, since they lived in a time of radical change, intense persecution and overwhelming difficulty. Considering, crafting and establishing nuances are left for those who can do so in the relative security of looking back on the revolution.

I am grateful for the time in which I live, where nuance is possible and everything is not black and white - but I do not condemn those whose lives left little room for ambiguity.