There are more questions than answers and the more I find out, the less I know.' So goes the old reggae hit which regular readers will know I am very fond of quoting. Well, I mean, it is so true. It works at so many levels and is applicable to so many situations. So, okay then, why am I saying it to you today? Because there is a strong implication that someone is now asking too many questions about a situation that is much more straightforward than it seems. What's wrong with the answer you have already got?
Are all the facts being considered? Or are decision being reached on the basis of a few small nuggets of information that hardly represent a full, clear, picture? And even if we think that we have clarity and objectivity, how can we be sure? You are now doing your best to be fair under a set of circumstances that seem confusing - and which trigger emotional reactions by their very associations. The best you can do is question yourself. If the answers to your soul-searching are consistent, what else can you do but trust them?
When we go to the movies, we often see heroes and heroines falling in love. What we are actually watching are actors in character feigning such affection for one another. That's all fair enough. It is the way that show business works. But imagine if an academic said, 'Look at how performers make a pretence at passion. That just proves that no such feelings ever exist between people in real life.' You may now know that one thing is untrue. That is not fair reason to assume that something else is without foundation also.
Many daytime television shows, seem to involve people being subjected to lie-detectors. 'Has my boyfriend been faithful? Let's attach him to the machine and find out.' If only such devices were as reliable as we might imagine. But they can give highly misleading readings. They can't distinguish, for example, between something that someone has thought about doing and something that they have actually done. You now seek a clear answer to a pressing question. But a vague reply may be as good as you are ever going to get.
Are all the facts being considered? Or are decision being reached on the basis of a few small nuggets of information that hardly represent a full, clear, picture? And even if we think that we have clarity and objectivity, how can we be sure? You are now doing your best to be fair under a set of circumstances that seem confusing - and which trigger emotional reactions by their very associations. The best you can do is question yourself. If the answers to your soul-searching are consistent, what else can you do but trust them?
When we go to the movies, we often see heroes and heroines falling in love. What we are actually watching are actors in character feigning such affection for one another. That's all fair enough. It is the way that show business works. But imagine if an academic said, 'Look at how performers make a pretence at passion. That just proves that no such feelings ever exist between people in real life.' You may now know that one thing is untrue. That is not fair reason to assume that something else is without foundation also.
Many daytime television shows, seem to involve people being subjected to lie-detectors. 'Has my boyfriend been faithful? Let's attach him to the machine and find out.' If only such devices were as reliable as we might imagine. But they can give highly misleading readings. They can't distinguish, for example, between something that someone has thought about doing and something that they have actually done. You now seek a clear answer to a pressing question. But a vague reply may be as good as you are ever going to get.
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