The game is "Telephone". Often played by little kids who sit around a room, or table, and one person whispers something into another person's ear. What was said travels around the room as a whisper to each person, until it makes its way back to the originator. With any luck, by the time it gets back to the first child, it will resemble the original statement. Knowing children though, it sometimes can be slightly different, or completely different, and is indicative of how children not only hear and process information, but how they relay it as well. Usually the hearing on their part has omitted, or changed an important aspect of what was was originally stated not out of malice, but just by the fact that children hear certain words, and phrases better than others because of familiarity rather than the nefarious behavior of leaving something out on purpose. But it's definitely an interesting game exercise nonetheless, because it gives a window to how not only children, but adults can receive and send bad information or twist things even when presented with the source right in front of them. Usually in that game, it is hard to figure out just who messed up the initial statement because everyone has whispered, so that's actually what makes it funny. Somewhere the connection to what was first said was lost, and everyone laughs because they are kids, and kids are harmless. When it is NOT funny is when adults do the same thing.
There are plenty of adults out there who could not play "Telephone" if their life depended on it simply because they have decided to see what they want to see, and hear what they want to hear, and not what has been presented to them.Their way of processing information, and relaying it is suspect, or in their interpretation of an event that took place, they have chosen to omit certain important aspects that really need to be known for the whole picture to be taken in. Adults are interesting, because even though some like to make the claim that no one thinks for them, and their mind is their own, they look for herd mentality, and they seek out others who they can partner with in thought. The only problem with that is that the herd works very much like kids playing "Telephone". The only difference is that adults have an agenda for themselves, and usually that agenda is to look for a way to forward their idea on how the world works. There is nothing wrong with someone having an opinion. Different opinions however detestable are important to growth. The problem lies with how people came to that conclusion, and if you look at the source of those that choose to try to articulate how they arrived at something, the answer is usually a deviation from what is actually the truth in the source matter. It just got converted in the transfer of information within the telephone line..
How many times have you seen people get up in arms, and beside themselves over a news headline, and they can't wait to rant and rave, and raise hell over what they have seen? Only to read the entire article to realize and acknowledge all of the things not stated in the headline, and that everything now makes perfect sense in context, and is a non issue. I believe that sometimes when people read, they either half read an article, or cherry pick words or phrases that get them riled up and pissed, because that's what they want to be anyway. People see the world, and things as they are, I get that. That does not make it OK to see things by carefully picking out the things that contradict how you want to see them. We are all hypocrites to a certain degree, and our opinions often conflict our behavior, and other opinions that we have inside of us, but there are people who make this philosophy their way of life because they play "Telephone" to specifically change things around to benefit what they think.
I am sure that many of us have gotten a phone call from someone asking why we said such and such a thing, because John, or Joe, or Jane said that you said whatever. Usually the information is spotty, with incredible gaps in the story that a 100 car train could go through. The response is usually something like, "Well did Jane tell you about the part where X,Y, and Z happened to lead up to why I said that?" Usually the answer is a "No" or silence. And this is because down the telephone line there was a decision of omission. In order for the tale to work for whatever reason, there needed to be a headline, and perhaps someone was banking that the full story wouldn't be read. And the full story not being read benefits the agenda. In the age of information this seems to be unthinkable, but it is even more rampant. It's not like the days of folk hero John Henry vs the Steam Train, where people have to speculate about whether it is true or not. the information is often accessible and available for review. people choose not to review it for their own ideals sake. No one wants to be wrong, but it happens, and will happen to you hundreds of times if you are lucky. Being wrong is good because it forces you to rethink yourself, and what you believe, and that can only mean growth. Bad information, or omission of information does no one any good, because it creates chaos. And those who love chaos, are unfortunately usually the ones towing the telephone line.
In this day and age of no attention span, even with mountainous amounts of information around them, and at their fingertips, people don't listen carefully, nor interpret wisely. This country is divided not by race, or religion, or by any big issue that red or blue present. It is divided into people who listen, and people who don't..By people who understand things 3 dimensionally and by people who can't or choose not to. By people who look at the headlines, and by people who read the whole article. It's the "Telephone game" on steroids played by adults whose mission is to hear things and see things the way a child would. As I get older, I desire more and more to hang out with individuals who can play the telephone game, and get the information back to the beginning unhindered as it should be. I desire to deal only on a superficial level with individuals that can't. As wrong as their behavior is, and as limited as their insight may be, it is fascinating from a human observation level. It certainly isn't fun to watch, because kids are harmless..Adults when they do this are dangerous. And all of the so called individual thinkers engage in herd mentality. And herd mentality leads seamlessly to mob rules mentality.
Ignorant, oblivious, nefarious, self indulgent, desperate or dangerous. Whatever words you come up with to describe some individuals who are adults who get on the line, and change or omit the story, makes it obvious that I would rather play the "Telephone Game" with kids. They have much better and more interesting things to say.
(raising my hand slowly) Guilty as charged.
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