Shades of Grey

A guest lecturer at General News Reporting class yesterday said something that struck a chord within me. He said, "The world is painted in shades of grey." I thought it was a beautiful yet apt thing to say, because most matters of the world fall into a grey area. Mankind's progression is built upon volatile theories and idealism, depending on the dominant powers of a certain era. No absolute freedom or democracy exist in this world. Authoritarian ruling is justified in the name of maintaning social order. Democracy, liberalization, postcolonialism is often disguised in a veil neocolonialism. The constitution does not protect one's freedom to a certain extent. The enforcement of law is often misconstrued by layers of obstrusion, often under the grips of power and greed. We all know that the mass media is a significant platform for the ruling power of a nation state to practise hegemony through political and social discourse.

On a daily basis, men as the individual self constantly battles with his innermost enemy. The conflict usually arises as a result of his organic compulsion to shift between the lines. Our likings for roses today may evolve into an obsession with daffodils tomorrow. The human mind is a complex dimentia, one that does not rely only on reasoning (though philosophers may argue otherwise, but how many of us out there are actually Aristotles or Proust?) but on emotions. Hence, the never ending cycle of questioning, arguing and counter-arguing begins.

Even Morality does not exist in totality. With so many moral theories to consider, men faces a "moral dilemma" when reasoning and justification of the 'rightness' of his conduct.

However, it is this aspect of greyness in our lives that makes it interesting. If there weren't questions, there would certainly not be answers, even though these answers are not necessarily solutions. I shall share with you Billy Joel's song called 'Shades of Grey'...

Some things were perfectly clear,
seen with the vision of youth
No doubts and nothing to fear,
I claimed the corner on truth
These days it's harder to say
I know what I'm fighting for
My faith is falling away
I'm not that sure anymore

Shades of grey wherever I go
The more I find out the less that I know
Black and white is how it should be
But shades of grey are the colors I see

Once there were trenches and walls
and one point of every view
Fight 'til the other man falls
Kill him before he kills you
These days the edges are blurred,
I'm old and tired of war
I hear the other man's words
I'm not that sure anymore

Shades of grey are all that I find
When I look to the enemy line
Black and white was so easy for me
But shades of grey are the colors I see

Now with the wisdom of years
I try to reason things out
And the only people I fear
are those who never have doubts
Save us all from arrogant men,
and all the causes they're for
I won't be righteous again
I'm not that sure anymore

Shades of grey are all that I find
when I look to the enemy line
There ain't no rainbows shining on me
Shades of grey are the colours I see

Shades of grey wherever I go
The more I find out the less that I know
There ain't no rainbows shining on me
Shades of grey are the colors I see