If you were around in the 70's, you'll never forgot the movie Jaws, adapted from Peter Benchley's book. Let's just say it wasn't beach reading.
The premise was simple. A eastern seaboard resort town. Families on vacation. Sun. Laughter. Swimming. And a killer shark.
Much of the movie centered on the coverup by the city officials who didn't want a little thing like killer sharks ruining their summer tourism season.
Who can forget Amity Mayor Vaughn, at a press conference, who said this, "I'm pleased and happy to repeat the news that we have, in fact, caught and killed a large predator that supposedly injured some bathers. But, as you see, it's a beautiful day, the beaches are open and people are having a wonderful time. Amity, as you know, means 'friendship.'"
There is a tendency to cover up the bad. We see it all the time. If you follow Wall Street, you know that companies who give their annual reports find the one bit of good news and leap on it. If revenue is down, they'll still point out that Widget A increased sales among 50-54 males in Maryland. And that's supposed to help us feel better.
Politicians spin a similiar line of thinking. Sure, unemployment is hovering near 10 percent, but consumer confidence is up. Manufacturing volume is down, but jobs are being created in the green industry.
The techniques of media spin include:
- Selectively presenting facts and quotes that support one's position. Cherry picking.
- Non-denial denial
- Phrasing in a way that assumes unproven truth
- Euphemisms used to disguise the agenda
- "Burying bad news": announcing one popular thing at the same time as several unpopular things, hoping that the focus will be on the popular one.
How many times have I been asked, "How are things?" My response? "Great." "Fine." "Blessed." I then I spin a tale of joy and happiness to keep everyone satisfied. It's beautiful. The beaches are open. I'm having a wonderful time.
"Instead, let your message be 'Yes' for 'Yes' and 'No' for 'No.' Anything more than that comes from the evil one." Matt: 5:37
Care to comment?
Participating in Graceful's, "Hear it on Sunday, Live it on Monday." Check out the others here.
11 comments so far - add yours here:
Great point, David.
I definitely answer the question differently when talking to a grocery checker than I do when talking with, say, my sister.
It's become part of hello, hasn't it? I've also noticed, that when someone says, "HiHowAreYouToday" that a response of "Hello" is adequate.
I'm also training myself to simply say "Good morning/afternoon/evening" if the purpose of the exchange isn't really to inquire about the other's well-being, but rather, say, to buy milk and bread.
But then again...I remember the time I ended up praying with the woman in line ahead of me at the grocery store, when I asked, "how are you" and she responded with an outpouring of distress.
Great post, indeed. I recall back in the 1980s I was trained to respond to the question, "How are you?" by immediately saying "TERRIFIC!"
It was a lie most of the time, of course, but the idea was to present yourself as being a wonderfully happy and positive person, whether that was true or not.
There is spin in everything. Anyone who thinks just a little bit for themselves knows this and automatically reads between the lines. Spin is a way of life. Sad.
Dave Ramsey's 'Better than I deserve' comes to mind. That one is kind of nice, because it combines both the positive upbeat response and a little humility.
Strangly, my workplace is super negative. But I guess that's because public broadcasting is constantly getting shellacked at the federal level with threats of pulling funding. It makes for a very unstable work environment.
Overall I get your point though, David. And it's well-taken.
Thanks for linking up today -- happy to see you there!
Very thoughtful post, David. I tend to sugarcoat things sometimes, it's true. Sometimes, holding up faith in light of difficult truths can be challenging. I find myself speaking platitudes into the situation that sound weak even to my ears. Thinking about this one.
I think the key is "speaking the truth in love." Sure, I sugar coat when I should be more open and authentic. I've also been known to unload on people who weren't prepared for my emotional onslaught. I think I'm still learning the art of discretion and trying to remember to pray for wisdom to know when to speak and when to keep my big, old mouth shut!
I agree with you -- I have the tendency to just say that I'm "fine" when really, my life is in the toilet. But I do that because I don't want to seem like a burden. It's sometimes such a hard thing to do -- to be authentic all the time, to know when to let your heart show and when to guard it.
Marketing is a business discipline that is quintessentially American. The problem is when it goes from a business discipline to a way of life and becomes culturally infused... which is where we are now.
Nothing captures that ethos better than the Andre Aggassi commercial from 15 years ago w/ the tag line "image is everything"
Thanks for the reminder to speak the truth and do it plainly
What a great illustration - I blogged about not putting on a happy smiley face too. I love it when God re enforces what I have been learning through others - so I guess I better listen up!
I agree that we shouldn't be spinning what just ain't so.
But.
I'll share a brief anecdote with you. Yesterday morning I walked into church following some conflict at home. If someone had asked "How are you?" I might have glared out a "NOT good." I headed to a private place to pray.
On the way, I encountered the pastor, who had emailed an apology to me two days earlier, thinking he had offended me. He caught me in the hall, and my first thought was that I really needed his encouragement just then. But when he spoke first, thanking me for the encouraging reply I'd given, it all hit me.
500 people are here today. This man is about to address the congregation about spiritual matters. Why I'm here isn't about me. It's about God. And if I look at the whole picture, I really am just fine.
I offered a broad and heartfelt smile, assuring him once again that he had caused no offense to me, and telling him instead that the subject of his email was his gift, not an offense.
The Lord miraculously put light in me when I thought I had none. I promptly headed into worship, apologized to a family member for my part in the conflict, and gave praise to God that really, I AM fine!
Hmm.
This post pulled a blog post out of me. I wrote it last week but it posted this morning. Reading the comments here, I think Laura and Nancy were reading over my shoulder as I drafted it :).
Here is the link:
http://www.godspotting.net/2011/03/cows-horses-and-truth.html
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