Partisanship

There is something in the human mind
that longs for simplicity,
searching always
for two sides:
good and evil,
right and wrong,
liberal and conservative.

Nuance is the enemy
of emotional thinking,
dissolving righteous anger
into calm and clarity,
scattering our clouds of outrage
into fading wisps
of unease and confusion.

At the core of our suffering
is the fear of uncertainty,
the niggling doubt
that nothing
and no one
can be pinned down.

To acknowledge this,
to accept it as our own,
is to give up blame,
to see ourselves and others
as we really are.

There are no liberals,
or conservatives,
there are only people.