We are all sellers of one item or another. It could be a product, our own skill and talent, or an idea or philosophy close to our hearts at any given time. Whether a man offers trash or something worthwhile could, in many cases, be a subjective judgment on the part of the buyer. But the least that is expected of a decent man is that he will not supply garbage after advertising it as gold. Unfortunately, there is a big gulf between what men claim up front and what they actually end up delivering.
Most advertising is such that it attempts to give an impression of demonstrating the original claim, where in fact it demonstrates something quite different. To cite an example, if the claim of Manufacturer A is that its sponge absorbs water faster than sponges from other manufacturers do, then the demonstration better not be that it absorbs more water, which is ‘proved’ when the two sponges are squeezed to release water into their respective buckets. The adman hopes that his potential customers will fail to notice the difference between more and quicker; and indeed, a large majority does not disappoint him.
Of course, the adman does it deliberately, with impunity, and availing himself of every psychological trick up his sleeve. Whether it is the more familiar variety of advertiser that works for corporations or the thinly-disguised variant that is apt to introduce himself as media or campaign manager for a politician, the modus operandi is identical. False and misleading claims are right up there with fake reviews and testimonials when it comes to bread-and-butter tactics for advertisers.
Sadly, most of us are guilty of the exact same behaviour as the adman’s, at least insofar as the results are concerned, even if in some cases it is done subconsciously, or (at any rate) not completely consciously. The only other difference is that while the adman is likely to be proud of himself for having exercised his marketing skills successfully, the ordinary man tends to hide from others and from himself anything but the most upright behaviour on his part.
Just observe a man courting a woman, or a woman trying to get a man to woo her, or both the woman’s and the man’s folks in the stages preceding an arranged marriage. Every one of them attempts to projects an image scarcely possible for a mortal to live up to in real life, and which could not be more distant from his or her true self. The result is extreme disappointment on all sides, often followed by acute disillusionment. In many instances, the elaborate pretence at play stays in the subconscious mind (sometimes elaborate care is exercised to ensure that it stays there) so that the person manages to be happily oblivious of it.
Using this brand of marketing, people not only sell their products (or their selves) but their social, religious and political views as well. Good Samaritans like you and I routinely deceive one another in this way: A position is taken by somebody, and the reasoning (in his opinion) behind it presented. If you are brash enough to point out the weakness of the argument, the person is apt to look at you as though you have completely lost your marbles. Most likely, what is actually going on beneath the surface however is that he finds himself stumped, because he has never bothered to subject his opinion to any sort of scrutiny ever. Trust him to pull himself together and offer a hastily-assemled argument that (he hopes) supports his conclusion. In ninety-nine cases out of a hundred however, the argument would be such that while it could support many positions, it does not support his original claim. Like the sponge example above, oft-times the conclusion it leads to is easy to confuse with his conclusion, but it is certainly not his conclusion. This is the plight of very many arguments in people’s mind that appear ‘irrefutable’ so long as they refrain from scrutinizing them. Not that the man is likely to abandon his position when he is finally forced to do that; for by now, it has typically become a matter of ego more than about what makes sense.
The standard of evidence that humans typically hold themselves and others up to for presenting or accepting a philosophy are notoriously low. Relevant evidence is seldom demanded, still less provided. No wonder the argument provided in the rare case when it is demanded leaves much to be desired. It is true that if somebody happens to be bashful or an outright introvert, he may not have advertised his thoughts to anybody else. Even so, he has sold it to himself, if to nobody else. This makes this subtle form of deception the deadliest there can be.
Whether something is worth offering (or accepting) may be a subjective call in many instances. That being said, whether the product happens to be a lowly sponge, a refrigerator, one’s hand in marriage, a political idea, a religious interpretation or a social change, the prevalent lack of honesty while promising it does the human race no credit whatsoever. What is more, it contributes very negatively to human happiness. As a species we would be much better off being a little more candid with one another and, more importantly, with ourselves.
