Green-Colored Glasses

My guess is you consider yourself an open minded person. You’re mostly right. I say mostly because we’re all biased. Each of us has filters through which we see the world.

We’re a lot like the people of Oz – as in The Wizard of Oz. In the original story, written by Frank Baum, the Emerald City is said to be made of green glass, emeralds, and other jewels. And yet, when Dorothy and her companions enter the city, the Wizard expects them to wear green-tinted spectacles. The Wizard says the glasses will protect them against the “brightness and glory” of the city. In truth, the green glasses skew their perspective, making everything appear greener than it really is.

A skewed perspective is also why the Scarecrow thought he needed a brain; the Tin Woodman, a heart; and the Cowardly Lion, courage. For good or for bad, each of us sees what we want to see, not necessarily what actually is.

Skewed perspectives are why we have trouble resolving everything from business disputes to marriage problems and parenting conflicts. What’s true become skewed because our green-colored spectacles blind us to some angle of reality.

The solution is to recognize that we do see things through filters that color our perspective. We can only respect other viewpoints when we acknowledge that other viewpoints actually exist. To overcome our biases, we must first admit that we have them.