Thursday, April 19, 2012

the wicked truth

truth is not only about facts or reality. it's also what the majority of people agree on.*

like centuries ago, people believed the sun revolved around the earth, or that the earth was flat. they had no scientific proof then, so they just believed because that's good enough for them.

it's just down to perception.

i remember this conversation from the mini-series the kennedys. john f kennedy was worried about how the public would respond to their campaigning for presidency. his father reassured him : it's all about perception & with the right amount of money, we can make people think what we want them to. and as we all know, the younger kennedy was duly elected.

so, perception seems to create a more powerful impact than the truth. perhaps, there's actually no such thing as twisting the truth. just project the image you want people to see you as, & to them, that's the truth.

politics is such a crafty art.

*from the musical wicked



6 comments:

Yvonne Foong said...

ie. You are projecting the image of a good parent on your blog. How many of us readers believe it's true about you? ;P

I learned of a political science term from my friend. "Astro Turfing". The Bersih Rally is an example of Astro Turfing. It makes people believe that the primary goal of the rally is to fight corruption.

doc said...

Yvonne,

you could be right - after all, who doesn't want to look good in public eyes?

i'm beginning to think that perception & deception are interchangeable words.

if you are right about Bersih, then the mother of all astroturfing would be 1malaysia.

Anonymous said...

Some days when I wake up, I wished I still had my rose-hued glasses and pinhole camera with me. The world was such a lovely place then. As it is, all I have now is an acidic tongue, an acerbic wit and a mechanical parrot that keeps singing that song from Grease.

Unknown said...

I agree perception could create power or the image that you want people see in you..

doc said...

Cara,

perhaps you left out "caustic" & "vitriolic" as well. but that's only because you are at the peak of your career. once you've mellowed over the years, you'll go back to being that ...er...sweet girl of yore.

which song - summer nights?

doc said...

Alv,

same in bloggosphere - we portray the image we want people to see us in.