It would seem to me that people judge ACTION as a strength. and lets not pretend that it isnt. Not for a second, of course being able to decide on a course of action and then following through with gusto is a good thing. I would be foolish to argue otherwise . But what i would say is that those who do not immediately rush for the sledgehammer to put out the next fire, are also due some credit. Could there actually be more than one way to skin a cat?
Sitting on the fence. Indecision. Procrastination. Dont you wish people would make up their mind? Right or wrong, but make some decision. We all are human. We make mistakes but decide and dont sit upon the fence.
We have been indoctrinated into a nation that grows up believing that you must be one or the other. It would be preposterously ludicrous to support more than one football team, It goes against the grain, it can even empty public houses! But what is really so bad about supporting your local lower league football team for what it represents; (primarily you, it is YOUR local team after all) the community, camaraderie in the face of adversity, turning up to support them despite being utterly convinced you have no chance of winning. And also supporting the team of your choice, no matter the league or in spite of how vastly wealthy they have become from the generous arabs next door (metaphorically speaking of course). Why cant this be an acceptable series of choices? I for one can appreciate being able to support one cause for noble reasons with commitment and still enjoy the successes, failures and all that falls in between from your 2nd team.
Rubbish! You cry, Not buying it? No, probably not, but then again we have been programmed to think like this havent we.
The main issue I have with the statement you can see just above, is that people seem to confuse indecision with taking a balanced stand point. Just because one refuses to regurgitate other peoples beliefs in an instant and declare their ideologies either left or right of the political spectrum. It does not mean they are not capable of action nor does it mean they do not have the courage of their convictions to firmly come down on one side of the fence or the other. Quite the contrary, to attach oneself broadly to a political party to me smacks of ignorance and lethargy. I wonder how many voters in the last elections bothered to read through the entire contents of each parties manifesto? That doesnt necessarily matter. I hear you say. Maybe it doesnt, but quite often it is the same people who complain that their local government is demolishing their community park for the next stage in Darth Vaders plan to take over the United Kingdom, one Tesco at a time,??who have voted for that party, which did in-fact stipulate that redeveloping retail in the place of said park was item no26 in their policy document.
Fence sitters are becoming more and more regular in todays world. One could even argue they represent the disillusioned youth of our society??the Non-Voters? Too lazy to pick one side of the argument. I dont think this is the case. We are living in the age of the Entrepreneur, traditional values attributed to one party where we vote and campaign for one or the other are disappearing, they simply dont reflect how we think, how we analyse situations, how we ACT. And we do act, but now we prefer to take elements from all sides, embrace contrasting components, take a bit from here, take a bit form there and make a new path, our own path. Traditional politics are fading, economies have been failing and religions are fearing the end. And they would all have you believe that decisions must be made. You agree or you disagree, you believe or you dont But what if there was a 3rd possible answer to each of those questions, or a 4th or 5th? How much richer the debate becomes and how many more possibilities suddenly become available. The stigma attached to the middle ground is often an unfair one. From the fence I can see why one neighbours garden grows the best plants and why the other neighbour yields the most fruit. From only there can i learn how best to achieve the best of both worlds. Maybe It is No Mans Land, which in the end, is the most fertile place to create something new and perfect for yourself.
Dont be afraid of the fence, just be sure that you can see over both sides.
Andrew Donnelly
