A black and white world



The Nation

Many say the world isn’t as they thought it was; it isn’t black and white. A black and white world implies a place where everything is straightforward, a person is good or bad, an action is right or wrong. It’s easy to believe in a black and white world when you are young. A child is mostly an observer of the world. However, as one grows up, one is forced to actually live in this world.

This is when the blacks and whites start fading, giving way for other colors. Or maybe they blend together, creating other colors. If it’s the former, a fading of colors, it would mean that the definitions of good and bad start to slowly disappear. However, no matter how developed a society is created, moral values, principles and religious rules and regulations will continue to label people and actions as good or bad, right or wrong. Thus we must look at the second explanation; a merging of colors. If you mix a dab of black paint with white paint, you will be left with gray paint. However, the world isn’t gray. It’s not one shade. Not everyone or everything is the same. You don’t look at the world and see just one blurry gray mess. It’s not like looking out of your window during a massive storm and seeing nothing but a curtain of rain.

Instead the world is an explosion of color. You have the blues, pinks, greens and yellows. There are so many colors that you don’t even know what to call them. During art class in school, we were taught how to spray paint using a tooth brush. The assignment resulted in a white paper covered in millions of colors. This is what the world is; a canvas of various colors, various shades. Thus actions and people cannot be either black or white, they are so many different colors. We all are of different color, and we all make up that one big masterpiece that has been perfected over years, decades and centuries.

However, in an ocean of colors, it is easy for good and bad, right and wrong to get lost. They may seem to be pale in comparison to other, brighter colors. This is why people often forget to question if their behavior is right or wrong. And this is often blamed on us, the youth. Adults tend to look at us and mock us, saying they have lived longer and thus know better. They may have a point; maybe we are blinded by all the colors. However, we don’t know less just because we have lived for a shorter period of time. Maybe we have seen more, heard more and experienced more than them.

This doesn’t give us a reason to go against our parents’ wishes. Instead, we must sort through the colors of the world and identify what colors are best for us. It may seem difficult or too big a task. However, it is worth it. And as the years add on, and as you see more and more of the world, you will understand what our parents were talking about when they warned us against one thing or the other.

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