- Nov 23, 2015
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- #2,126
I like this commentary, as well as Ichabod Noodle's thoughts. I think very much the same way - people and things are shades of grey, not black & white, not absolutes (or at least, rarely). Unfortunately, in this modern world, people seem to have lost the art of compromise, or being able to see the grey in things. I see it in my work all of the time - people want to be right and you must be wrong. And it's definitely the case in modern politics (especially in the USA, but increasingly in Australia), but even in society. The instant outrage at someone saying something that someone else perceives is wrong, or politically incorrect, or hurts someone's feelings. And in things like this, not taking the time to acknowledge the circumstances of the time. Yes, things can be wrong and horrific, but understand what the world was like in 1870 rather than 150 years later.My thoughts are similar.
The world is full of grey. People aren't good or bad, they are a mixture of both.
People like Wills and Macquarie did lots of positive things that made Australia what it is today. They also did a number of horrific things.
People are also a product of their times, I think it serves more value to acknowledge the wrong doings of the past.
These atrocities of the time involved otherwise good people, these issues were systematic or structural not bad people doing bad things.
Looking through this lens serves us better as a learning tool than the painting those involved as bad people.