What I find simply amazing is how millions of people can listen to or watch the same speech or event, and each will have their own interpretation.
Something in our human existence allows each one of us to craft our own belief about our experiences, and it makes each individual unique. I'm not saying this is a bad thing, because it's not. It's what has led us to advance throughout our existence, and is what will either save us or doom us in the end. I'm not passing any judgment on it - just noting it's significance.
The reason I bring this up is the response to Barack Obama's recent speech on racism in America, brought about by comments his spiritual adviser and close friend has made in numerous sermons. It's interesting how wide the range of reactions has been. Some, including my professor at Fordham, Paul Levinson, have suggested that the speech was a huge step in race relations , perhaps one day to be ranked with Martin Luther King Jr's "I Have A Dream Speech". Others vehemently declare that Obama's refusal to condemn the remarks is proof that he agrees with them, and that this will be his downfall. How can it be both one of the greatest speeches in history and the nail in the coffin of a campaign at the same time?
Human perception is truly amazing.
If you have a moment, take a look at this article from the History News Network. Whether you agree or not for this specific case, I thought it was an inspiring reflection on Obama's decision regarding this pastor, and how, in the grand scheme of things, we need to stop scapegoating others so we can lead better lives.
I'd like to take a moment to continue with the idea of perception in politics, but to step away from the Obama issue. While I was thinking about the statements I made above, I started thinking that while there might not necessarily be a one hundred percent truth in this crazy world of ours, we should be able to come to a consensus on SOME things. Obviously we all have our own biases and personalities that will alter how we understand our world, but we should be able to look at certain things and agree. It reminded me of a line from a Lewis Black comedy routine, when he was talking about this issue of how we can never agree on anything:
"...and there has to come a point where Democrats and Republicans... where we see a piece of footage and we just agree on what the fuck reality is. And the fact is, you cannot show video of a Land Rover running over a cat and then say 'The cat was trying to kill itself. I'm going to need at least 3 days to find the note that he left.'"
You can take a look here if you like
Yeah, it's a comedy routine, I get it. But it made a lot of sense. Certainly we are all going to have different opinions on almost every issue that comes up. But there does come a time when we need to stop allowing our elected officials to spin what's going on into a story that will simply calm us down and work to their benefit. This election has the potential to turn into one of these watershed moments, and we might indeed have the chance to hold our politicians accountable for their past actions, to send a message to anyone newly elected, and to make sure they understand that their promises need to be kept. Using our own perception is one thing - allowing someone else to tell you what to perceive is dangerous. We need to understand what is important for the American public as a whole, and demand it to happen.
