Appearance Matters More Than Reality

Appearance is now more important than reality.

What we see, has more influence that truth.

Examine the power of advertising and ask why are pure white teeth considered not only desirable but healthy and “good?” It is because advertisers, whilst in a campaign to sell toothpaste and dental equipment. (A campaign where the objective is to generate sales and make money,) have convinced us this is so. Dentists like to further this since they make more money from cosmetic dental work than from dealing with diseased teeth.

The cosmetic industry sells products using scientific sounding words that have very little basis in actual science. Cosmetics is above all, about appearance and not about “actual.” It is promoting the idea that what can be seen is far more important than what is hidden.

Television has a whole genre of fake reality shows to further this concept of appearance is all that matters. Social media is full of fake news posts. Most people know they are fake but they still proclaim a message that may have had an influence. Repetition is a great conditioning aid.

It is probable that lies have had great influence, ever since humankind started to communicate with each other. Our modern world has a power to spread lies, to more people, at a faster rate than ever before and this is why the issue is getting more important.

This whole concept of lies and misrepresentation of reality is bad in advertising and in “entertainment” but it is far worse and so much more dangerous, in politics. We already have spin doctors who are paid well to present image and appearance while hiding reality. Think about this. The government of your nation depends only and completely on who can appear to have the most popular appeal.

Policy, based on evidence-based expectations of the future, does not have anything at all to do with getting elected or in gaining media or public support for the policies. I am sure there are still a few aspiring politicians who consider the future wellbeing of their nation to be important that political dogma but these will never get selected by the party apparatus. Political parties were formed with admirable intent but that intent has been subjugated to winning at all cost. Winning with truth and honesty is not even considered as an option.

The media, especially social media, has great responsibility for this move away from reality and towards fantasy. Posts so far from any considered and rational thinking, that they belong in comic books, get better reception than a well-argued examination of the situation. People want instant sound bites that confirm their own pre-existing notions, they do not bother to read a 1000 word evidence-based examination of all the facts and showing alternative possibilities. So here are a few sound bites for you. What is popular is not necessarily what is true. What is easy is not often what is best. What looks desirable is not always a good idea. The team that wins soccer matches is not the one with the latest hair cuts.

These last few years have seen the quality of political leadership drop, all around the democratic nations. Getting elected depends on public appeal, on appearing to be virtuous, on having an image that appeals to scientifically established social economic groups. The presentation is all. Having a considered policy to deal with all the expected issues, that will affect all the people, is not even on the political agenda. We the voters must accept responsibility for this, we allow the media to feed us images and meaningless scraps. We spend more energy selecting a TV talent show winner than on the government of our nation.

We all have to change, the media, the politicians and the voters, if democracy is to survive in any meaningful way.