In paragraph two of the Daodejing, Laozi clearly expresses opposites. He talks about beautiful having ugly; good having bad; how something and nothing produce each other and so on. I think the point is that with opposites, you find balance.
Depending on where you are in your life, opposites are either good or bad. They can be used to balance your life. If you're having a hard time, you know that the possibility of an easier time exists. Opposites allow us to think positively or even negatively. They give us something to look forward to or to something to put behind us.
Think about life in general. Each day, we have day and night. We have male and female. We have sickness and health. We have good and bad. Some of these things exist for us to exist. Now imagine a life without opposites. If things were only bad, life would not matter. If things were always good, life would be boring. Not having opposites could mean that we lead meaningless lives or might lead to the complete loss of our existence.
I like your modern outlook on the opposite teachings of Daodejing. We really do face opposites in everyday life and we have to have it in moderation otherwise it would be pointless or boring. I looked at it in more of a harmonious type of way, yin and yang, dark and night, etc but looking at it as life in general makes sense.
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