50 Shades of Grey is the title of an extremely popular and controversial movie now in theaters, encompassing such things as sexual 
promiscuity and bondage. Even grandmothers are commenting on it. To me the title has an entirely different connotation. It reflects my view of the sociopolitical state of world affairs. When I was much younger I saw most things as black or white; good or evil; and desirable or undesirable. Now when I try to put a simple label or apply a simple solution to complex problems, I find myself immersed in varying shades of grey.
I went through my Ayn Rand stage of Atlas Shrugged, The Fountainhead and We the Living (https://www.aynrand.org/novels) during my post graduate and early marriage years. It all seemed so simple. Then, somehow, 50 years later, my perception has changed. Several days ago I answered a questionnaire that was going to tell me about my political preferences. Was I Democrat or Republican, or, “gasp”, something else entirely? Questions were designed for a simple yes or no answer, and I guess that would have told me whether I was a member of the Tea Party or the Extreme Left Wing. Much to my surprise, neither yes nor no fit with my global viewpoint, so I had to go to selections 3, 4 or 5, with 5 being “fill in the blank.”
This is when I realized that there are no simple answers and, I suppose, that means there are no simple questions. There is always a ying and a yang, a pro and a con. Whether they are discussing racial issues, immigration, finance, taxation, terrorism or a myriad of other topics, well intentioned people have great difficulty arriving at a common ground on which to agree. The result is partisanship and incivility.
We live in a complex world full of conflicting ideologies. The internet allows mass communication of events as they are happening. Video games de-sensitize the players to the point that mass killings and mutilations are the norm. Car alarms go off and no-one even looks up from their restaurant meal. The list goes on and on while we seek simple answers that don’t exist. Until we see the world as “shades of grey,” we will be continually frustrated and unsuccessful in solving the very complex problems facing the world today. 
By recognizing “grey” we can begin finding that middle ground somewhere between the black and the white, like the cats being petted in the diagram on the right. Hopefully, this will result in developing meaningful solutions to complex problems, and become the first step in making the world a little better and safer.
Are you black or white or somewhere in between? I welcome your response and will keep an unofficial tally of opinions.