Where Do My Readers Come From?

Sunday, January 13, 2013

I wonder....

if it is just an American thing or perhaps a thing that is distinctly male. I wonder what makes it hard for people to say either "I was wrong" or "I do not know the answer to that, or I have not heard of that let me find someone who can answer that question for you."

Now I don't think it is a distinctly male behavior because I have seen women do the same thing. I used to be the same way. I am sure that there are times right now that I continue to act that way. But, when I am aware of it and actually taking the time to listen to the question or to actually engage in the issue at hand or the conversation. It does not bother me to just plainly say, "I did not know that" or "I don't know." It is easy and simple for me to do that and it doesn't diminish my masculinity to admit my ignorance. What brings this issue to mind for me is a couple of skits that I have seen lately on the Jimmy Kimmel show. They have been going around and asking people what they thought of events that hadn't happened yet. Now I am sure that these questions are edited because that is just the way television is. But they still had to find people who answered a question that they didn't know the answer to and would have no way of even knowing the answer.

What do you suppose led them to do that? Do you think the producer of the segment told them to just go along with the questions and answer them like they already knew the answer? It frankly wouldn't surprise me if there had been some of that because it is actually pretty funny. I just hate to be that cynical to think that they were that artificial in the creation of the segments. Though when I think about that aspect of it I am not sure why I am concerned if it was real or not. The Jimmy Kimmel show isn't a news show. Their job is to entertain and they do not claim to be anything but a show designed to entertain and if the segments make me laugh then they have succeeded in that.

We live in a time right now where it feels like it is hard to tell the difference between fiction and reality and the line between entertainment and news is growing increasingly blurred. This makes it very hard for me to not be cynical since it seems like everyone has an agenda of some sort.  So I continue to try to unpack the message behind the message when I read the news or hear a story on the radio.

 I also try to live my life in a way that doesn't hurt others and be a caring and understanding person. That for me involves me being able to say to to people, "I'm wrong" when I feel I am wrong and "I'm sorry" when I have wronged someone in one form of the other. So for me, part of that process is me making long and rambling blog posts that jump from topic to topic and really while I may have started with a goal I often lose my focus and end up in an entirely different spot then the one that I thought I was headed towards. But what I find amazing is that just the process of writing things down allows me to solve or move through whatever issue I was dealing with.

Thanks for reading this the few of you that do. I know that some posts are better then others. Which reminds me of this Smiths song even though they do not really relate at all. Have a great day folks.


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