Image Management

I wish politicians could see how transparent their efforts are to everyone watching

But then, they aren't the only ones trying to manage how others see them, are they?

All of our lies, all of our character assassination is centered on the hopes that it will make us look better, to spin or justify ourselves.  We do this so regularly that it has become a part of our national character.  It is the way of political discourse, the basis for "gotcha journalism", it is part and parcel of advertising, common practice of ladder-climbers in the business world.  More personally, we do this through the way we manicure our lawns, how we dress and the car we choose to drive. The blame, excuses and outright sales job that massages our opinions only fool some of the people some of the time- mostly those who WANT to believe what they are being told.

We make victims of ourselves by denying our shortcomings, blaming others and/or resorting to verbal arsonism to tear down others.  We are not morally tall enough to stand on our own feet so we stand on the backs of whoever may be convenient.

Integrity means that our thoughts, our words and our actions are in alignment with each other.  If you feel guilt as you read this, as I do, that is an acknowledgement that our hands are not clean and we have chose image management over honesty.  To clear our conscious, we can make a list of any offenses we remember and write how to handle it honestly next time.  To make amends we should go to who we offended and confess, ask forgiveness and make amends as much as possible.

Letting the facts speak for themselves requires maturity.  Angling for a position that makes you look good at the another's expense costs us our self-respect and makes us appear desperate.