"Waffles or pancakes?"

The question haunts my breakfast dates and brunch meetings. This mere inquiry carries great power and the potential to trigger arguments, yet I can never refrain from asking.

I believe (or at least I used to) that the world is divided into two types of people: waffle people and pancake people. Though I am a waffle person because of their obvious, crunchy superiority, I do not discriminate against those who prefer their syrup spilling over the sides of their breakfast. I bear no ill will toward those who choose to live their lives so carelessly with a general disregard for the impracticality of a flapjack's shapeless nature, as I myself sometimes throw caution to the wind. Instead, I resent those who refuse to choose and nonchalantly reply, "Either or."

"Either or? That's impossible!"

From that point on, an unnecessary tension settles upon mealtime conversation as my companion stares back at me quizzically, perplexed as to how such a meaningless question can ruffle my feathers so. My mind is unable to comprehend how a person can simply fall upon the middle ground.

After a deadlock in several such debates, I came to the painful realization that maybe, just maybe, the world is not divided into the harsh categories of pancakes and waffles but instead encompasses a wider variety of people: French toast people, crepe people, bacon-egg-and-cheese-biscuit people. This plethora of "Category: Other" breakfast foods is what is known as the dreaded "grey" area -- an area I avoided for the longest time.

As a person who has opinions on everything from IKEA furniture to universal health care, my strong stances caused me to see the world in black and white. However, the more I see of the world, the more I understand that the world is not black and white; instead, it's made up of many shades of grey.

This black-and-white mentality is the root cause of many of the issues we face in society today; by oversimplifying complex topics into the harsh categories of right and wrong, we become quick to take sides without even considering the idea that there could be, dare I say it, valid points to both arguments.

Similarly, in a world of constant side-taking and finger-pointing, we also fail to recognize the faults within each side or to consider another alternative. For instance, in the clamor between Republicans and Democrats, we often blindly defend one party or the other without recognizing the inherent flaws in both.

The world, unfortunately for our short attention spans and unsatiated desires for quick answers, is not divided into the harsh categories of pancakes and waffles. Instead, the world is a breakfast buffet -- and I've got a lot on my plate.