Nuance People, Nuance!

I've been inspired to write a short rant about how we need to promote the idea of nuance in our social, political, and ideological views. To me these nuances are common sense, but all too often in today's discourse they are all but forgotten.

• You can hate Nazis and white supremacists and still be critical of the Black Lives Matter movement. 
• You can be critical of US and Western foreign policy and still think that Islamic terrorists are inspired by the Islamic religion to commit violence.
• You can agree with basic feminism, which is gender equality, and still be critical of many proponents and ideas of third wave feminism. 
• You can think political correctness has gone too far and still agree that we should have some basic norms of respect and decency. 
• You can think political correctness has gone too far and still be a liberal or a conservative who's against racism and sexism.
• You can stand up for the freedom of speech for people with hateful ideologies and still be against what their ideology is about.
• You can think Islam is a sexist, homophobic, and violent religion and still respect the human rights of Muslims.
• You can stand for trans-rights and not be transphobic for not wanting to have sex with them.
• You can stand for the rights of racial minorities and be critical of the crime problems and social issues in their communities.
• You can be a liberal and be critical of Islam, contemporary feminism, and political correctness.
• You can be a Republican or a conservative or even a Trump supporter and not be a racist, sexist, homophobic, Nazi sympathizer.
• You can be for higher taxes on the rich and more government regulation and recognize that some tax laws and government regulations hurt the economy.
• You can be an atheist and think that religion has positive social benefits.
• You can think that there is legitimate criticism of Islam and not be an anti-Muslim bigot.
• You can agree that some racists criticize Islam and not all critics of Islam are racists.
• You can think that immigration needs to have controls and limits and not be a racist xenophobe.
• You can stand for the rights of Muslims and not be a Jihadist.
• You can support a political candidate and not agree with all their positions.
• You can support a public figure and not agree with all their positions.
• You can be critical of the State of Israel and not be an anti-Semitist.
• You can be critical of the Palestinians and not be a Zionist.

These are just some of the nuanced views that are possible that today's social, political, and ideological debates seem to completely leave out. Because we've become way too tribalistic and black and white in our thinking, what we need to do is constantly remind ourselves and others that nuance exists. It's more important now than ever. As I think of more nuanced views in my interactions, I will be adding them to this list. If you have any suggestions to add, mention them down in the comment box and please spread the word!