Contradictions Invite Curiosity

Contradictions Invite Curiosity

By Jeffrey M. Bowen

Contradictions can be invaluable learning tools when we explore rather than exploit them. When a situation presents features that oppose one another or seem so inconsistent that we are convinced one must be wrong, then we usually have at least three choices. One is to ignore the whole thing and remain blissful. Second, convince ourselves that our view is right, regardless of facts, and manipulate our own truth. Or third, ask questions; seek more information that might resolve the contradiction. We can deliberately choose ignorance, remain stubbornly biased, or become curious.

My choice is always curiosity, but circumstances can dictate otherwise. My approach may be governed by the availability of time, resources, or my emotional reactions.

Two very different historical events illustrate my points. Last year we visited the city of York, England where I was puzzled to see a big bronze statue of the Roman emperor Constantine relaxing comfortably on a podium near the front door of the largest Gothic cathedral in northern Europe.

To me this was contradictory. I thought Romans were pagans and known for murderous pogroms of Christians. After getting home, I read that Constantine became the first Christian emperor in 306 C.E. Now he is celebrated for having propagated Roman Catholicism throughout western Europe.

I confess some contradictions linger. I also learned that this statuesque emperor murdered his wife by allegedly boiling her in oil. A similar fate befell his sons. Yet Constantine built major cathedrals in Rome and was notably lenient with priests.

More personally impactful for me is the contradiction that surrounds the political fate of President Lyndon Johnson. Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, in her chronicle of leadership in turbulent times, tells us that Lyndon Johnson fell victim to a shocking contradiction in the latter part of his tenure.

In 1964 Johnson enjoyed a landslide election, a growing civil rights coalition, a booming economy, and a peaceful world. His so-called “Great Society” initiatives triumphed because of his amazingly strong ambition and legislative expertise. He seemed to understand that giving stakeholders a chance to shape measures made all the difference.

The contradiction shows up in the contrast between Johnson’s monumental domestic successes and his awful temporizing and misjudgment about the intensifying war in Vietnam. Attempting to protect funding for his domestic achievements, the president deliberately downplayed the ballooning budget of the escalating war.

 In later years he reflected, “I had no choice but to keep foreign policy in the wings. I knew that the day it exploded into a major debate on the war, that day would be the beginning of the end of the Great Society.” Johnson continued to hide the extent of the Vietnam war until the American people grew intensely dissatisfied. Then his recourse was to announce he would not run for reelection.

In 1968 I failed to understand, nor to this day do I accept, Johnson’s reasoning. His contradiction eventually resulted in my spending a year overseas involved in a futile initiative to escape the war by turning it over the South Vietnamese.

 As we have learned over the years, interpretations and documentation of historical events will shift and produce new truths as well as bitterly contested lies.

History is just one aspect of our encounters with everyday contradictions. The key is not to ignore or rationalize them, but to ask questions and investigate as best we can. It takes a good dose of curiosity and persistence. But it is the only way to learn the truth.