One can say, we are all prisoners of our own perceptions.
Millions of people have voted in this election so far. The Republican nominee has been chosen, but the Democrats have not yet been able to choose their nominee. This has happened not because of the vast differences of policies between the two remaining candidates.
Both Clinton and Obama have very similar plans and policies toward most of the big issues. The quagmire the Democrats find themselves in choosing a leader is not, therefore, in the differences in policies offered by the candidates, but the perception the voters have of Clinton and Obama. Geraldine Ferraro was censured for her utterance that Obama is where he is because of the color of his skin.
Ferraro may have hit the bulls eye by her statement. A statement that millions of people were thinking but did not dare to say, because it is not politically correct. Obama has been talking about change from the very beginning, but change in what? He and his team have been very successful in changing the voters’ perception by taking the spotlight away from the issues, which are very similar to those of Obama’s opponent, and shining it on Obama himself.
The black man whose father was a farmer in Kenya, who grew up in near poverty by his mother, a boy who nearly went astray but was able to find the right path, he who became a lawyer, who became a senator, and who now seeks to be the president of the strongest nation on earth. Voters perceive Obama to be different and are filling his political coffers with millions of dollars and are voting for him left and right. In reality, Obama is no different from Clinton.
Last week Eliot Spitzer, the Governor of New York, was caught with his spoon in the honey jar. A $3000 honey jar (postage and delivery not included).
Why would anyone pay more than $4000 to spend an hour with a prostitute? If one really needs to, a $300 one would probably be as good, if not better. So why spend $4000+ of one’s hard earned money for an hour of pleasure, when $300 would buy you the same? Perception is the answer.
Most people feel better about themselves when they pay for something that they perceive to be superior. And usually, the yardstick for the superiority is not the quality one may be getting but the number of dollars one ends up paying. In reality, $3000 Kristen is no different from $300 Jennifer.
