Perreault Magazine - 54 -
One of my preferred strategies for thinking about–and dealing with–the future is
“to embrace ambiguity.”
Not surprisingly, I’m often asked, “How does a person learn to embrace ambiguity?”
It’s a great question and I’d argue that it begins by acknowledging the existence of ambiguity.
To illustrate this point, I turn to the famous “If by whiskey” speech by Judge Noah S. “Soggy” Sweat, Jr., a state legislator from the state of Mississippi, who eloquently and firmly came down on both sides of a controversial bill seeking to prohibit whiskey sales:
My friends, I had not intended to discuss this controversial subject at
this particular time. However, I want you to know that I do not shun controversy. On the contrary, I will take a stand on any issue at any time, regardless of how fraught with controversy it might be. You have asked me how I feel about whiskey. All right, here is how I feel about whiskey:
If when you say whiskey you mean the devil’s brew, the poison scourge, the bloody monster, that defiles innocence, dethrones reason, destroys the home, creates misery and poverty, yea, literally takes the bread from the mouths of little children; if you mean the evil drink that topples the Christian man and woman from the pinnacle of righteous, gracious living into the bottomless pit of degradation, and despair, and shame and helplessness, and hopelessness, then certainly I am against it.
by JACK ULDRICH
How to Embrace Ambiguity With a Shot of Whiskey