Ever since the confirmation of the first two cases in Hong Kong of the disease we now call COVID-19, people have been asking me the same old question: “Why aren’t you wearing a mask?” To which I have several ready-made replies: “They give me asthma”; “I can’t find any in the shops”; “I don’t have any symptoms of the disease”; and so on.

But before the outbreak, there was another question I was constantly being asked: “Are you yellow or blue?” To which my answer was always the same: “That’s the wrong question.” Because yellow and blue are only two of the colors of the rainbow, and as anyone who knows how to “sing a rainbow” will tell you, there are seven colors altogether: red and yellow and pink and green, orange and purple and blue.

Or, in other words, on any given issue, there are more than two possible positions, and any intervention that implies the contrary creates a false dichotomy — which, on a societal level, is potentially dangerous because false dichotomies effectively exclude the middle ground: the rich, fertile area of dialogue and compromise in which meaningful political activity takes place.

This exclusion of the middle ground is, unfortunately, the prevailing situation in modern-day Hong Kong, where society has largely polarized into two hostile camps, making it extremely difficult for moderates on either side of the political divide to make themselves heard above the noise of increasingly radical protesters. Take, for instance, the opposition to the government’s perfectly reasonable plans to establish quarantine centers and screening clinics at selected locations around the city in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. Instead of being welcomed as sensible measures necessitated by a public health emergency, these plans were met with outright hostility from many residents, in what can only be described as a classic example of the so-called “not in my backyard” (Nimby) mentality.

To counter this process of polarization, it’s imperative that we all reject the false dichotomy of “yellow or blue” and embrace all seven colors of the rainbow. For only by seeking out the political middle ground will we be able to marginalize the extremists and empower the silent majority — those of us who simply want a peaceful, prosperous and inclusive Hong Kong

Such an outbreak of “Nimby-ism” is, sadly, not surprising in such a polarized society. The reason for this is that a self-interest bias (what’s good for me is good for society) is unlikely to be checked in an environment in which a false dichotomy (I’m right, so you’re wrong) has become the norm. In fact, due to yet another cognitive distortion, that of groupthink, it’s actually far more likely to be validated and reinforced.

Just like the creation of false dichotomies, this process of validation and reinforcement of in-group beliefs is a potentially dangerous one, particularly in a polarized society, as it accentuates the split between pro-government and opposition camps and facilitates an all-or-nothing “you’re either with us or against us” approach that ultimately undermines democracy. This phenomenon helps to explain why the protesters here have become so intransigent, clinging at all costs to the mantra of “five demands, not one less” even though not everyone in the opposition camp necessarily agrees with all five of the demands. It also helps to explain why some of the protesters’ actions — the mindless violence and vandalism, for example — have become so extreme, because groupthink tends to polarize the thoughts and actions of individuals within the same group.

To counter this process of polarization, it’s imperative that we all reject the false dichotomy of “yellow or blue” and embrace all seven colors of the rainbow. For only by seeking out the political middle ground will we be able to marginalize the extremists and empower the silent majority — those of us who simply want a peaceful, prosperous and inclusive Hong Kong.

One of the key lessons that need to be learned from the COVID-19 outbreak, I think, is that we’re all in this together — whether this is a public health emergency or a social emergency. Hong Kong is one economy, one society, and it’s up to all of us to ensure that radical elements aren’t allowed to split it down the middle.

The protesters today seem to be fond of quoting martial-arts legend Bruce Lee Jun-fan, who once famously extolled the versatile virtues of water. But if they’re really serious in their desire to “be water”, they need to look more closely at what Lee actually said: “Empty your mind. Be formless, shapeless like water. Put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. Put water into a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Water can flow or creep or drip or crash. Be water, my friend.”

Clearly the essential thing here is the supple strength of water, not the nature of the receptacle. So let’s all stop focusing on receptacles — whether someone or something is “yellow” or “blue”. And, instead, let’s start emulating the flexibility of water. Because after so many months of senseless disruption and division, it’s high time we found a new tune to dance to.

Does anyone still know how to sing a rainbow?

The author is an educator, commentator and director of a company providing English language services in Hong Kong.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.