Face Value...
Class, today we’re going to be talking about subjective interpretation, or, taking things at face value. Now, in life we learn many things, from our parents, teachers, supervisors, peers, and whatever we retain is what we base our decisions and opinions on. With me on that?
Okay. Let’s make a quick jump to the week Hurricane Katrina hit. Remember President Bush’s demeanor? While New Orleans catastropically tanked, the news informed us Bush was busy campaigning, playing guitar, and most of all vacationing, in spite of his homework of having to skim through Mark Kurlansky's book “History Of Salt,” John Barry's “The Great Flu Pandemic of 1918,” and Edvard Radzinsky's “Alexander II: The Last Great Tsar.” Light reading for you and me, but a gargantuan task for someone who has been spotted holding “My Pet Goat” upside down.
Now, for subjective interpretation. Remember how disgusted the entire nation was, including the ever-forgiving Religious Right, when the president failed to acknowledge in a timely and compassionate-conservative manner the horrific events taking place in New Orleans? When he finally strode into New Orleans, wide-armed, shirt sleeves rolled up, it was too late to erase that first impression, no matter in how many directions he pointed from that truck he climbed onto. All fingers were pointing at him. We, as a nation, had taken him at face value, and no spin or blame game was going to change that. It was like that photo op with the bullhorn and firemen on the twin tower rubble never happened, and all we remember is how the president of the United States had sat through two terrorist attack reports in a preschool classroom without stirring once.
You see, when we take things at face value, we instinctively judge things before our rationale—or FOX-News’s spin—have a chance to dilute our first impression with glib, intelligently phrased, "objective" chatter. Sure, there’s a place for rationale, discussion, pro and con in our thinking, but what if we’re constantly being told that first impressions don’t count? That Brownie is doing a heck of a job? What if you subscribe to some political, religious, or social platform, and those doctrines dictate that you think accordingly, before your subjective interpretation has time to start a process of reflection, questioning, doubt… and arriving at conclusions that are all your own? Subjectively yours.
Class, I’d like to make a case for subjective interpretation, and I’d like to make you revisit the judge John G. Roberts hearings, and how quickly you dismissed shots that revealed our senators body language and showed that some, after asking a question, contently crossed it off their list without listening to the judge’s reply or pose a follow-up question. What does that tell you? Class, these are the people you vote into seats of power and I want you to begin paying attention to such signals. Simply put, I want you to start taking things at face value. Be subjective.
Anecdote: For a while I was seeing this Japanese woman. She’d lived in the US for several years, but was neither interested in politics nor fluent in English. One time, as we watched the news she told me she liked democrats. Why, I asked. Well, she’d noticed that every time a politician had a friendly, calm face it was a democrat, and every time a politician’s face showed anger, or discontent it turned out to be a republican. I made me laugh, but the point had been made: she’d taken these people at face value and the interpretation made sense to her.
So, I’d like to give you an exercise and subjectively interpret the faces of the following lia.., uh, people: John Hannity, Bill O’Reilly, Condoleeza Rice, Donald Rumsfeld… Any rightwinger will do. Then, pick some politicians of the opposition and repeat the exercise. Of course, you must try to see—not just look.
What can we learn from this? That we’re born with a blank expression and have a lifetime to plaster our demeanor onto it. So, my conclusion is that what you see is what you get. Now, in life we learn many things, from our parents, teachers, supervisors, peers, etc. Then there are things you got to figure out for yourself by using your gut. You can call that subjective interpretation. Fine. Take it at face value. Reports due next week. Class dismissed!
©2005 Rudolf Helder
Okay. Let’s make a quick jump to the week Hurricane Katrina hit. Remember President Bush’s demeanor? While New Orleans catastropically tanked, the news informed us Bush was busy campaigning, playing guitar, and most of all vacationing, in spite of his homework of having to skim through Mark Kurlansky's book “History Of Salt,” John Barry's “The Great Flu Pandemic of 1918,” and Edvard Radzinsky's “Alexander II: The Last Great Tsar.” Light reading for you and me, but a gargantuan task for someone who has been spotted holding “My Pet Goat” upside down.
Now, for subjective interpretation. Remember how disgusted the entire nation was, including the ever-forgiving Religious Right, when the president failed to acknowledge in a timely and compassionate-conservative manner the horrific events taking place in New Orleans? When he finally strode into New Orleans, wide-armed, shirt sleeves rolled up, it was too late to erase that first impression, no matter in how many directions he pointed from that truck he climbed onto. All fingers were pointing at him. We, as a nation, had taken him at face value, and no spin or blame game was going to change that. It was like that photo op with the bullhorn and firemen on the twin tower rubble never happened, and all we remember is how the president of the United States had sat through two terrorist attack reports in a preschool classroom without stirring once.
You see, when we take things at face value, we instinctively judge things before our rationale—or FOX-News’s spin—have a chance to dilute our first impression with glib, intelligently phrased, "objective" chatter. Sure, there’s a place for rationale, discussion, pro and con in our thinking, but what if we’re constantly being told that first impressions don’t count? That Brownie is doing a heck of a job? What if you subscribe to some political, religious, or social platform, and those doctrines dictate that you think accordingly, before your subjective interpretation has time to start a process of reflection, questioning, doubt… and arriving at conclusions that are all your own? Subjectively yours.
Class, I’d like to make a case for subjective interpretation, and I’d like to make you revisit the judge John G. Roberts hearings, and how quickly you dismissed shots that revealed our senators body language and showed that some, after asking a question, contently crossed it off their list without listening to the judge’s reply or pose a follow-up question. What does that tell you? Class, these are the people you vote into seats of power and I want you to begin paying attention to such signals. Simply put, I want you to start taking things at face value. Be subjective.
Anecdote: For a while I was seeing this Japanese woman. She’d lived in the US for several years, but was neither interested in politics nor fluent in English. One time, as we watched the news she told me she liked democrats. Why, I asked. Well, she’d noticed that every time a politician had a friendly, calm face it was a democrat, and every time a politician’s face showed anger, or discontent it turned out to be a republican. I made me laugh, but the point had been made: she’d taken these people at face value and the interpretation made sense to her.
So, I’d like to give you an exercise and subjectively interpret the faces of the following lia.., uh, people: John Hannity, Bill O’Reilly, Condoleeza Rice, Donald Rumsfeld… Any rightwinger will do. Then, pick some politicians of the opposition and repeat the exercise. Of course, you must try to see—not just look.
What can we learn from this? That we’re born with a blank expression and have a lifetime to plaster our demeanor onto it. So, my conclusion is that what you see is what you get. Now, in life we learn many things, from our parents, teachers, supervisors, peers, etc. Then there are things you got to figure out for yourself by using your gut. You can call that subjective interpretation. Fine. Take it at face value. Reports due next week. Class dismissed!
©2005 Rudolf Helder
posted by Rudolf Helder at Saturday, September 24, 2005
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