What we say and why we say it.

This is a topic I find mystifying. How do you define credibility? What's it worth? How do you keep it? Who deserves it? On a broad spectrum, I don't think credibility is worth very much. On a local level, I think it's worth everything. For example, if a politician running for office tells a lie, they still get elected. If you tell a lie to your neighbor, chances are they'll never talk to you again. National news correspondants make stuff up all the time. When they get called on it, they simply, "misspoke." Scandals, as it were, are nothing more than breeches of credibility.

So why do we listen to certain people and not others? What generates the bonds of trust that say, "whatever this person tells me, is real." Is it credibility? The last pair of glasses I purchased were from the Costco vision center. They did a nice job and the price was right. So if I develop kidney disease, do I go back to the Costco vision center? They did a great job the last time I was there. Of course not. That sounds ridiculous, right? But we do that all the time. Think about it. Why do manufacturers use celebrities in media advertising of their products. What does Matthew McConaughey know about Lincoln cars? Nothing. Yet, sales of Lincoln Motors went up 13% after the ad campaign featuring McConaughey launched. Take it a step further. Why are politicians quick to point out celebrities who attend their campaign events? They do it because they know a certain percentage of voters will turn out for them based on a celebrity endorsement. Because nobody knows more about geopolitical balances of power than a TV actor. When I have questions about tariffs or the trade deficit with Japan, I absolutely must know what some chick from "Charmed" thinks.

We are bombarded daily with opinions. If you're reading this, you're getting one right now. We get opinions from celebrities, friends, family, co-workers, colleagues, customers, the Uber driver, the homeless dude on Wacker Street, the pool guy, the stripper, the monkey handler........and on, and on, and on. How many unsolicited opinions do you get daily? Pretty high, right? Why does our culture perpetuate the doctrine that everyone in the world MUST know your opinion regarding every topic ever discussed, everywhere, all the time, ever?!?

I have no idea when this became a thing but it is a thing and I don't see it going away anytime soon. As the Compulsivegiraffe sees it, the question isn't really why people do it. The question is, who are you gonna listen to? And why?

#keepgiraffing