THE REAL THING

Calling something "the real thing" does not make it so no matter how often it is repeated.

A number of years ago, Coca-Cola (or was it Pepsi?) started calling their soda "the real thing." They even had a jingle that seemed to get stuck in my head. "The re-al thing!" I can still hear it over and over. I guess that is what they wanted the commercial to accomplish - to get people like me to remember their jingle instead of the other guy's jingle.

Did remembering their jingle get me to buy their product? Maybe. But I can tell you this, I always hated that jingle. Maybe that is part of what they were trying to accomplish. If people hated their jingle, it would make a more lasting impression on them.

What I hated about the jingle was the shallowness of what it was saying. Could any soda be "the real thing?” Soda is the most artificial substance man takes into his body. It has no redeeming value other than it is wet. With all the sugar and/or salt it contains, it does not "really" quench your thirst. It only seems to relieve it temporarily. To me, it seemed obvious that no soda was "the real thing", and all soda was as artificial as can be. Did the advertising executives "really" think that people are that stupid? I guess we are! The advertisement was repeated so often for so long, someone must have thought it was increasing sales.

We need to be aware that something does not become true just because it is repeated many times. Repetition makes a concept familiar. It does not make it true.

All prejudices are maintained by this aspect of human nature. Repeating something over and over again makes the concept so familiar that people stop questioning it. "Jews are cheap! Blacks are lazy! Polish people are stupid!" The list of commonly repeated prejudices continues almost forever. Are these and other prejudicial statements true? There is no scientific evidence to support any of these statements. Of course, these statements are true as they apply to some members of each group. There are some Jews who are cheap, some blacks who are lazy, and some Poles who are stupid. Of course, there are plenty of gentiles who are cheap, whites who are lazy, and members of other national groups that are stupid. Prejudiced people always point to one or more specific people to support their prejudicial statements. "I used to work for a Jew, and he was so cheap!" "I grew up living next to black people, and they were so lazy!" "I knew a Pole in high school, and he was so stupid!" Does anyone really believe that one or a few examples proves a generality? Yes! Whenever I make this point to a group of people, someone invariably responds, "But I know a lot of Jews who are cheap!" or "But I know a lot of blacks who are lazy!" or "But I know a lot of Poles who are stupid!" Somehow this "knowledge" of theirs translates in their minds into the belief that, "All Jews are cheap!" or "All blacks are lazy!" or "All Poles are stupid!"

The older I get, the more I have learned to question every assumption that people throw at me. Assumptions, like prejudices, always contain a grain of truth. Sometimes they contain a lot of truth. I have never heard an assumption or a prejudice that is always true. Even if you are correct that a lot of Jews are cheap, is this Jew cheap? Is this black person lazy? Is this Polish person stupid? Is this prejudice applicable in this situation? Is this assumption true in this case?

I wish we could completely get away from all assumptions and prejudices. Until that time, at least can we agree to question whether they are applicable to the specific situation we face?