LIFE IS RARELY AS SIMPLE AS YES OR NO
As an elected official, I often get asked by people to give a simple “yes” or “no” to a question. And almost always, that question and the way that it is being put forward is a loaded question with a venomous sting that will suit the questioner.
But the truth is that life is rarely as simple as yes or no. For anyone that is a parent you will know that each day you are asked many questions by your children, that will often result in you giving a yes or no answer – but in the truth there are layers upon layers of practical details that go into the short answer that you give. And kids, to their credit, are great at asking “why” when you give an answer that they didn’t want.
The human brain does indeed have a strong desire to think in pretty strict categories. And in politics there will be some that try to present complex matters as being simply black or white. Beware of MPs that want you to believe that decisions and labels are simple.
An example of this is the question of immigration. Some people want you to think of the question as simply a numbers thing. But in truth our entire economy is deeply reliant on immigration in all its forms. Our universities need the funding so that they don’t go broke. Our regions need the workforce – be it fruit pickers or Doctors. Our Budget needs to show population growth so that the finances of the States and Territories don’t collapse. Our skills shortages in building trades means that we can’t build new homes, or roads or tunnels, without a migrant workforce. The list goes on.
Another example is whether or not our entire population can be simply categorised as male or female. What is a male and what is a female is, for most, simply based on the physical qualities of a new-born baby. But what if the genitalia of the newborn is not so clear – as is the case for some at birth. Or what if the chromosomes of XX (female) or XY (male) were not clearly imprinted on DNA. Or what if the body that looks physically male, rejects the male hormone of testosterone. And apart from these, and many other physical and biological markers, then there is psycho-social pathway for each individual and their development which then becomes a question of gender, as opposed to biological sex.
To take on the battle with your own brain, that desperately wants you to categorise things into simple and clear boundaries, takes energy. It is so much easier to simply give into your brain and declare complex things as either black or white. And the fight with your own brain becomes harder if you don’t have the details to push back; but it also becomes easier if you are well versed on the details of a matter.
This is why I often find it hard to deliver a simple “yes” or “no” answer to questions that are put; questions that have layers of complexity built into them. As your elected Member of Parliament, knowing what I believe is one thing, but understanding why I believe that, is quite another.