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Strategies & Market Trends : VOLTAIRE'S PORCH-MODERATED -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Sully- who wrote (60719)	2/7/2004 9:15:15 AM
From: abstract	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 65232

If appearance is more important to you than facts, then we really have nothing worthwhile to debate. That could be a good thing - then we could just discuss. This needn't be heated, just an exchange of ideas between people who are prone not to agree, but respect one another and learn opinions and facts we wouldn't be exposed to otherwise. Let's talk about the relationship of appearances and facts: I think it is human nature of individuals (and by extension groups) to put the best "spin" on things about themselves and a less benevolent tag on those with whom they disagree. Every day each of us wakes up and puts on a "better face" before we walk out the door. We don't attach a sign to our chest revealing the facts about our life, that we have warts on our butt, dyed hair, straightened teeth, heart problems, kidney failure and an ingrown toenail. We pretend we are more presentable on the outside than we are on the inside and we put on a happy face. I hardly find that atrocious. I find it human behavior. Something I think we all do, even you. Mircocosm / macrocosm. These things don't really change. Just the scale. I'm not sure about this behavior becoming more commonplace. (In the 'olden days' did everyone know that Ben Franklin had 17 illegitimate children or that Thomas Jefferson had Negro offspring?) People always try to spin things to their advantage. I think even animals do it. Always have, always will. If the president, any president, orchestrates photo opportunities so the background is more patriotic and looks more presidential this is not atrocious. It is just what we do. All advertisements give the appearance that the product is more than it is. I suppose one could call it deceit, distortion and lies, but most people just call it marketing. Perhaps you have no problem with liberal politicians & liberal media repeatedly lying, distorting, intentionally deceiving & selectively reporting to create the appearance of a reality that never existed. That's a slippery slope I want no part of. This behavior is not particular to liberals. I can rattle off a list of both liberal and conservative individuals who I think are incredibly two-faced. (How can I not mention Strom Thurmond?) Personally, I like pointing out the hypocrisies I notice or how people seek to alter their own perceptions and/or how they are perceived. On a minor note, notice how John Kerry's attire has changed over the past 10 days. Suddenly he no longer looks like the common man (as if he ever looked comfortable dressing down) and now dresses to look presidential. Points of view and appearances are important, maybe more important than the facts. Do you have all the 'facts' about the 'American Civil War?' Why do those who had it fought in their backyard refer to it as 'The War of Northern Aggression?' Do you think any facts are going to change anybody's mind? It's not black and white, us and them, good and bad, honest and dishonest, patriot or commie-pinko, American or unAmerican. It's just soup.