Rose Colored Glasses

It’s one of those metaphors we all know and understand, but don’t know where it originated. Well I’m not about to tell you because I don’t know either. But I do know that it may be more misapplied than we think.

Standard usage of the “rose colored glasses” metaphor is to point out how someone else is blinded by something so much that they can’t see reality. Problem is that when we look for rose colored glasses, we are looking though our own pair. We may be correct that they don’t see right because they have a skewed view of the world, but do we really see any better? If their glasses had been colored just like ours, we wouldn’t even notice that they had any on because we would probably see the same things. Maybe our glasses aren’t skewing “this” particular thing, but what do they skew (or better, skewer)???

I’m sure that I don’t see everything about my particular bias when I consider life, politics, religion, etc. I would like to think I have no bias and everyone else are the ones with biases, but that would be a particularly arrogant view.

So how do you deal with analyses of “truth?” Does the admission that I see with a bias mean that I can’t really see truth? Or does it suggest that since everyone sees with a bias, then there must not be any real, objective truth? Lots of questions with little answers. The analysis would seem to be circular, leading nowhere.

What a pessimistic view!!! But I believe that there is real truth, and that we can see it. I further believe that we can see beyond our bias when we are open enough to admit we have a bias and are willing to listen and think before we filter. We were given brains to use, not just to figure out how to kill that wild pig so we could eat, but to deal with very complex issues. We build (and at least partly inherit) paradigms to simplify our daily analysis of things. But if we take the time and effort to think, we may occasionally find that our paradigm needs adjustment, or maybe even a serious facelift. Borrowing umpteenth-hand from someone (uncredited) “It's OK to have an open mind, just don’t let your brain fall out.”

This started out to be a discussion of “paradigm shift.” I have recently said that I’ve been alive long enough to deserve to have strongly held opinions and be cynical about things. But I’ve also learned enough, and some of it very recently, to change my mind on several issues. If you knew me, you may wonder if I’m ready to vote for Hillary, but I’ve not gone that far. The core of my beliefs are basically intact. What has changed is my view of what that should mean in my day-to-day life. I now believe it is more than a noble secular thing to do when you spend a day at Habitat for Humanity. It is also an excellent way to live out “love your neighbor as yourself.”

I still think my version of things is the best (read – my glasses are better than yours) or I wouldn’t hold to it. But I’m willing to reconsider, discuss, and grow.