One way to ameliorate the stuckifying effect of black and white thinking is to consider time.
When I hear a politician say how we must tighten our belts to fix the economy, and how some "essential services" like health and education must suffer, I want to know what exactly will happen over what time frame.
It isn't a code began the economy and services. That is the polarising and divisive black and white thinking so popular with politicians. The us or them mentality.
We can ameliorate this by considering time. It seldom ever comes down to doing just the one thing. Over time, we do some things towards the black, and other things towards the white; concurrently. Making the issues grey like this shifts this discussion from a for us or against us issue to one of prioritisation and balance, so we can better maximise benefits and minimise pain over time.
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