Choosing the Middle

I'm sure you're all familiar with the song Stuck in the Middle With You by the Jeff Healey Band.  I don't feel stuck in the middle at all, I've made a choice to be in the middle and I'm happy with that choice.  I read employment law blogs (exciting, I know!) because it helps me to stay informed and make better decisions at work.  I happened to notice the comments on a blog about the SCOTUS ruling in the Hobby Lobby case and was somewhat stunned at the blinders some people are wearing.

The political left is an angry group. Things occasionally don’t go their way and they throw a snit.

The same thing could be said for the political right - only more so.

I will admit that I laughed out loud and then rolled my eyes.  It started me thinking about Extreme's album Three Sides To Every Story.  Yours, mine, and the truth.  Anytime someone becomes overly fond of their own opinion, we see hyperbole and anger.  The reality is that most of the time, the truth and the best path forward lies somewhere in between the extremes.  At work the other day an issue arose and one person was pretty flippant about it, and another person acted like it was this unsolvable crisis.  The reality was it was kind of a problem, but it could be fixed.

Once when my brother was still in college he stopped by my house after a class.  His professor had asked the class who believed in capital punishment.  He told them to move to one side of the room if they believed in it, and the other side of the room if they didn't believe in it.  My brother was very frustrated that most of the class stayed in the middle of the room and made a comment that night that the problem with the world was all the damn fence-sitters.  I think the fence-sitters are actually the solution.  People who can look at all sides of the issues and understand that they may not have all the answers can help bring more people together and help move the conversation forward.  So I'm happily in the middle understanding that I don't have all the answers and that people who have different opinions than I do aren't bad or stupid.

Here are some pictures from my walk along the creek tonight.