Dualism and Nihilism — From One to the Other

How Good/Bad Formulas Make Everything Bad and How We Fix It

I am both an American, and a Catholic, which means I am a proud member of two of the most tyrannical, terrible, de-humanizing organizations in the world…depending who you talk to. Even worse, I was a soldier and became a theologian, so I’m an uber-monster.

Right?

Of course not. The things that I am and the organizations which I am part of, or support, are not inherently indicative of my character or morality. Real life is much more complicated than that.

Both America and the Catholic Church have instances of terrible violations of human dignity. But they have also been the light on the hill which has inspired some of the most incredible developments in history. Their actions stand in the judgment of history as both atrocious and inspiring. They are both/and, not either/or.

With every great light, dark shadows stand out even more starkly.

It is very useful to categorize things, organizations, and people as either good or bad. It’s quick and easy. And in the modern world, one where we are constantly bombarded with information, there is a tendency to triage, to bin ideas quickly, so that we are ready to accept the next input. It is an instinctive response and likely influences increasing tendencies toward tribalism and identity politics — there’s just too much information and we need to have some method to make sense of it all. We have a deep desire to…