Optics is everything. Perception is paramount. It can make or break fortunes and change the course of the world we live in. How many times do we say… “Well, that’s not good,” or “He said what?” when we see or read that someone we value for whatever reason says or does something really stupid?
We have all at one time done or said things throughout our lives with few if any consequences other than they make for great stories when asked what’s the dumbest thing we’ve ever done. Yes, I’m sure you’re remembering with regret those cringe-worthy incidences even now with a smile. For most, we just brush them off and chalk them up to learning experiences but for others— like those involved in movies, TV, mainstream media and of course, politics— optics can make, damage or even end their careers.
Take the Will Smith slap at the Oscars heard around the world. The optics? Definitely not good. I’m certain his publicist doubled his salary to attempt to get him out of the mess he created for himself that night. And Smith accomplished this in under sixty seconds. Even with the so-called apology and media spin making Will as the real victim in all this, trust me— his wallet took a hit. But seeing as he’s worth an estimated 350 million— the only reason he may, I repeat may be walking the floor saying to himself what do i do? What do I do now? is because he’s most likely a narcissist who can’t survive without being in the public sphere.
On the other hand, we have folks like Kanye West and the crazy shit he’s been up to lately which for some unknown reason is making all the news. I personally had no idea who he was until I heard he was involved with Kim Kardashian who I had never heard of before her infamous sex tape. All I can say about those two are thank God for youth because they are the reason for both their fortunes. And again, for other than narcissistic reasons— seeing as they both have more money than they know what to do with and are set for life in the life they’re accustomed to, optics play little to no role in their well-being. Add the fact that the American public has the attention span of a gnat, they and others like them don’t pay much attention because they can afford not to.
So yes, optics may play a more important role to the narcissist than it does to the regular Joe on the street working at Home Depot but they don’t affect our lives personally.
Optics Created by the Media
The SCOOP! When you think about it, that’s the primary reason for the media. Whether it’s cable news or a popular social media platform like twitter, they’re job is to publish stories, opinions resulting in placing the focus of which into either a positive or negative light. In other words, the Optics. Leading the reader or viewer down the path they hope the optics they present from the stories they tell will lead them. These days though, it seems like the media are creating optics from scratch based on out of context reports, spinning the truth (or a lie) or outright lying. You see, when it comes to optics, the accuracy or truth which creates the optics in the first place isn’t even that important just as long as the goal behind said optics is achieved. A lie can travel around the world much faster and do more immediate damage than the truth exposing that lie. The following is an excerpt from my article Media and the Truth (Part 3)
Sneakers – 1992
“Everything in this world, including money doesn’t operate on reality – [but the perception of reality.] Posit – People think a bank might be financially shaken. Consequence – People start withdrawing their money from said bank. Result – Pretty soon the bank becomes financially shaky. Conclusion – It can make banks fail.”
The dialogue above is from the film “Sneakers” – 1992. Great movie – if you haven’t seen it, I recommend doing so.
Interesting thought… isn’t it? The dialogue above illustrates the tremendous power the media actually have. And in many cases, it all begins with a rumor. Someone overheard something from someone and the media runs with it. And what once began as nothing from an anonymous source, perhaps even orchestrated – can destroy just about anything or anyone. What’s even more interesting is this movie is 28 years old! The dialogue is just as applicable today, as it was 28 years ago.
No greater example of this would be the optics surrounding Trump, the Covid-19 Vaccine, the 2020 election, Biden, Abortion, the 2022 midterms and eventually, the 2024 election. Let’s look at some of them— shall we? I’ll do my best to make them brief.
Trump
Well [deep breath]— What can one say about Donald Trump which hasn’t already been said. To know him is to love him (or hate him) but the one thing you can’t argue with is what he’s been able to accomplish during his four years in office. I wrote extensively about him in my book Covid-19: The Convenient Virus from China (yet another shameless plug) and I’ll have much more to say in my upcoming article— 2024: The Reckoning— so keep an eye out for it. Hell, there’s so much to say, it might turn into a book. Who knows at this point.
Covid-19 Vaccines
Believe it or not, after all this time, there is still not one covid-19 vaccine being administered in the US that has been fully approved by the FDA. Now, some will write and tell me I’m wrong citing the Pfizer version called COMIRNATY and the Moderna version called SPIKEVAX, however, neither vaccine has been made available to anyone in the U.S. Boggles the mind… doesn’t it? Especially with all these mandates and don’t forget to get your 6 month old jabbed ASAP! [sarcasm]. More interesting is how this fact is not being reported on by the media. Why? Ohhhhhh… by the optics that fact would create of course. No— they don’t want that.
The 2020 Election
Again— said it all in my book mentioned above but the optics spun by the left was an incredible feat. Personally, I honestly believed Republicans would have taken both Houses back then. I was surprised when they didn’t but in hindsight, democrats did have a better grasp on the optics as well as keeping the corruption swept under the carpet.
Biden
Worthless – nothing but a rubber stamp for China, Ukraine and Mexican Cartels who appear to control him. All I can say about Biden is break out the popcorn in a few weeks. It’s gonna be a wild ride.
Abortion
The entire abortion issue is a wonderful example of two things. First— the degree of utter stupidity rampant within many… many American voters and second— how many actually believed the complete bullshit coming from the mouths of liberal mainstream media, politicians and pundits. Why do I say this? Glad you asked. Two answers—
First, there never was and still no way on earth there would ever be enough votes in both Houses of Congress to pass any law codifying anything regarding abortion be it pro-life or pro choice. That’s a given.
More importantly—
Second, even if they were to pass a federal law regarding abortion, SCOTUS would throw it out the same way they did with Roe vs Wade. The ONLY way you could pass a law regarding Abortion is through a Constitutional Amendment. In other words, the second answer makes the first answer a moot point.
Yet a large portion of American voters bought into this complete load of shit from Democrats along with liberal media and the optics they created that Republicans would ban abortion on a Federal level including doing away with Medicare and Social Security. Especially single issue voters who actually believed it would happen. If this isn’t the definition of stupidity, I don’t know what is. Trouble is, Democrats bank on that stupidity every two years.
2022 Midterms
Three previous articles here on A Basket of Fish tell it all. Best to read them in order to get the complete picture. Hopefully will help in the 2024 election as it applies to future elections as well. First— Midterm Elections: Are Americans That Stupid? Second— Midterm Elections: Questions to Answer Before You Vote and third— Midterm Elections – What Have We Learned. Please read them to be better prepared for 2024. Let’s not make the same mistake again. We’ve already made enough of them.
2024 Elections
As in all national elections, optics plays a huge role in who wins and who loses. Ever heard of the October surprise? I rest my case. But it’s not just October. That’s when the usual Hail Mary Passes are thrown in a last ditch effort to change one’s vote to their candidate. But I can say with confidence— the 2024 election is going to be one for the history books. Read all about it in my upcoming article. Unless it turns into a book.
A Constant Uphill Battle
With the scales of news being so one sided these days, I’m surprised conservatives aren’t in worse shape. On the other hand— I’m not so surprised that people are finally waking up to this although you’d never know it by the outcome of the 2022 midterm elections. But keep in mind, the one lesson we learned was not so much changing the minds of American citizens but the machine aspect of the vote itself. While it appears it’s Fox News and the New York Post against everyone else and all odds are against them, believe it or not, Fox and the Post are winning this war. All it takes is to look at the viewership/readership of both camps to know that liberal media’s strength is declining dramatically. Why? Because by their actions and professed bias and their seemingly constant retractions, they have and are continuing to lose the trust from people who once supported them. Not so with conservative media. On the contrary, their popularity has only increased. Why? As Bret Baier says at the end of every Special Report newscast. Fair, Balanced and Unafraid.
Let’s face it folks— when your political, societal belief systems are for the most part baked in, optics have to be pretty damning for us to change our opinions. I’d venture to say this is true for somewhere around 65% of us. I’d also venture to say that most of the American public are intentionally ignorant of both unless one or both affects them personally. Until that happens, we have more important things to do which is why scandals— whether of a political or social nature do more to advance a narrative than most anything else. The questions are (1) how much weight we give them and (2) whether or not they’re even true to begin with or manufactured by an obviously biased media through manipulating images and video to match the narrative being spun only to be called out on it at a later date. Being called out at a later date— that sentence is key for the ones behind these optics don’t give a rats ass about that because by then, it’s old news like what’s now being said about Hunter Biden’s laptop. Old news! Nothing to see here, move along, the pundits say hoping they’ll be believed. But not this time.
Democrats and mainstream media have spent the last four years (or more) doing their best to sweep as much as they could under the carpet by either refusing to talk about it or refusing to report on stories that had it been about a Republican would have been plastered everywhere. We see this constantly. The evidence is overwhelming with one side shaking their collective heads in disbelief and the other side remaining silent moving on to the next story. But all that’s about to change in the next few weeks.
When all the hearings begin in a Republican held House— liberal media will do it’s best to ignore them by being silent. However, by doing so will put the spotlight more on themselves losing even more viewers. What will they do next? They’ll become like defense attorneys or spin-doctors doing their best to defend the indefensible, deflecting or changing the narrative.
How will they try to accomplish this?
