Wednesday, May 5, 2010

BloggeRhythms 5/5/2010

Yesterday's entry has kept me thinking about the same subject: Why some people hang on to traditions that are not only no longer comparable in any way to what they once were, but have also been altered, distorted, and in many cases -completely reversed.

I hear the old bromide "familiarity breeds contempt" all the time, for various reasons. And I guess it's applied so frequently because the underlying premise makes absolute sense. Because, quite often, when people learn more about things seeming so appealing at first, for whatever reason, those same things become less so as the surface is scratched and what underlies becomes known.

Some of the most obvious examples today are almost anything that's advertised. Audiences are exposed to promises of the best, the longest lasting, the most efficient, the least expensive, the fastest, the greatest, the one, the only, and on and on. Then, should whatever it is be purchased, the truth comes out with usage. Once whatever these offerings are, are put to the test, their true value is learned from the purchaser's actual experience. And it's then, after purchase, that buyers find out what they've really bought.

Unfortunately, in the real world, after the hype and promotional smoke have cleared, too often buyers find out they've been mislead, under-informed or outright lied to.

Now, I believe that in the most typical cases, purchasers who've been disappointed try to salvage what they can from their misfortune. By, perhaps, returning what they've bought, if possible, or seeking some kind of reimbursement, in whole or in part, maybe even requesting a replacement for a faulty item. And, if some kind of remedy can't be achieved for any reason, or no attempt is made at buyer-satisfaction at the very least the purchaser will never again go near that brand, label, trademark or whatever it is that identifies that seller.

Now, using what precedes above as a basis, let's substitute products purchased for what else? Politicians of course. Which leads to the question of why would anyone, or group of people, continue to vote en masse for a party that hasn't tried to help them for more than forty years?

What is it that is so ingrained in individuals that after having been let down, lied to, ignored and rolled over year after year, and despite being treated as mind-numb robots they still follow a band of self-serving dolts who've no plan whatsoever to help their own constituents?

Beyond that, it isn't as if these voters have no experience whatsoever with the competition. That competition has been in office often before, and in each of those instances the service to the entire constituency has been considerably better for all. Yet, for whatever reason, that superior performance is never acknowledged.

I certainly don't have the answers to why certain factions vote, nor in fact do I really care because I'm not a politician and have learned how to do what's best for me regardless of who holds office. But, I still marvel at the fact that so many supposedly intelligent people can get taken to the cleaners as often as they have by politicians who've got both of their hands in their voter's pockets and won't remove them till there's nothing left.

Yet, sooner or later, I'm sure those constituents won't be going to the cleaners any more. But, not because they've decided to vote another way, just simply because their political idols will have finally stolen their clothes.

That's it for today folks.

Adios

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