Time to think a little.
And talk a little about what we think.
Final Obama State of the Union address last night.
And it really didn't, doesn't and, ultimately, won't matter.
But not for the reason you might think.
It's actually about what you do think.
Thinking a little explanation might be helpful.
Couple of old sayings.
Politics is perception.
Perception is reality.
And your perception of last night's address will depend entirely on how you feel/felt about Barack Obama in the first place and/or where you go to read about last night's address and/or who you listen to when it comes to "analysis" of last night's address.
And nothing else anyone writes or says will make a dent on your psyche.
Because how you felt about the guy before he even walked into the House chamber last night was your already formed perception of him as a man and as a President.
And that perception is your reality.
Correct.
Or not.
Fair.
Or not.
It is, as the more basic amongst us often offer, what it is.
More often than not, we like to think of ourselves as reasonable people, people willing to listen to all points of view and make decisions based on a fair and reasoned assessment of those points of view.
Three words come to mind here.
Bwa.
Ha.
And ha.
Whatever else we think, or don't think, in this life, it's pretty obvious, when truth be forced to the surface for air, that we think pretty much of ourselves.
Because that's not at all how the whole "think" thing works.
We really aren't all that reasonable, we really aren't willing to listen to all points of view and we rarely make decisions based on "fair and reasoned" assessment.
We like what, and who, we like.
And we hate what, and who, we hate.
And there's, more often than not, very little thinking involved.
You see, the thing is that we're not really all that bright.
At least when it comes to giving issues of any depth any real deep thought.
That's what we have philosophers for.
And poets.
And Bill O'Reilly.
And there's a whole library worth of pages to read, and volumes yet to be written, about the why of that little human quirk.
But history, as well as contemporary living, offers empirical, unimpeachable evidence that we are simply simple creatures when it comes to what we think.
About things.
And people.
And Presidents.
And what they have to say to us at any given moment registers on us in a pretty basic way.
We agree. And we like.
We disagree. And we don't like.
It ain't rocket science.
I mean, think about it for a second.
If deep thought about deep issues were a standard operating procedure in the populace would either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton be currently perceived as the best and the brightest of what's available to us to replace Barack Obama come November?
And let's don't even waste any time contemplating the sorry cast of characters that make up the runners up.
Listen to any fifty of the self professed "political analysts" in this country and, thank you very much, I'll revert back to my personal favorite.
Peggy Lee.
Is that all there is?
Okay.
I think I've wandered off the point a bit.
Let me illustrate it.
A friend of mine works in broadcasting. He came to broadcasting late in life after a successful and honorable career as a postal employee. He is well known in the listening area, having lived there all his life and, as mentioned, worked for three decades for the postal service.
Within the primary area of local radio station listenership, he, very close to literally, knows everyone.
And every one knows him.
Admittedly, and he himself would be the first to tell you, he is not a polished, broadcast school trained veteran of forty years behind a microphone. And he would be a very awkward fish out of water were he to try and manage an on air gig in a medium to large sized radio market.
But this particular radio market is the textbook definition of small town and his natural warmth, combined with a diligence at getting better with his on air presentation, combined with the affection that the community feels for him pretty much guarantee that he would be an asset were he to appear daily, in some capacity, on the air in this particular market.
He is assigned very little in the way of air time.
And in the course of conversations we've had, I offered him an unfortunate, but undeniable, simple explanation as to why his abilities aren't more appreciated and, even more, more utilized.
Because he is not perceived by those who make those kinds of decisions as a charming, home town broadcaster who spent three decades working for the postal service.
He is perceived by those who make those kinds of decisions as a retired mailman.
Who they put on the air every now and then to placate him and keep him from quitting the part time job that mostly entails errand boy-ing and grunt work.
As you might imagine, it's frustrating for a guy who really has a lot to offer and is more than willing to offer it.
And it's, at the very rock bottom least, a lost opportunity for a radio station that works to generate sales revenue by way of trumpeting their "local" presentation in a broadcast world filled with faceless, cookie cutter syndicated programming.
But, you see, it doesn't matter what he is.
It only matters what people think he is.
That's why what Barack Obama had to say last night didn't, doesn't and, ultimately, won't matter.
Because who he is or what he aspires to be or what he does or what he aspires to do doesn't matter.
All that matters is what people think.
It's probably frustrating for a guy who has a lot to offer.
And, at the very rock bottom least, it's a lost opportunity.
If you like Obama, you think likewise.
If you don't like him....
...you think not.
Either way, it's worth some thought.
Don't you think?
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