If They Keep Saying It, It Must be True

Doesn’t it? Not at all -- but isn’t that how we learn? Think about it. We learn by repetition. We repeat words that our parents say to us, we learn the alphabet, arithmetic, by repeating over and over. Learning to do things well takes that over and over practice. Think about how all that repetition eventually imprints these facts into our brains. It IS how we learn.

BUT!!!!

What about other messaging? What about commercialism and product branding? We are told things over and over and over. If “they” keep saying it, it must be true, right? How often to you buy because you keep being told such and such is a good product? How often do you do things because others have said it’s the thing to do? What thoughts are your own or are they just something parodied by someone else? Think about it.

I refuse to listen to commercials. I refuse to have repeated messages branded into my brain. I refuse to have these big corporations and the media exploit me! 

Take this even further. What are we being constantly told by others; others who are supposedly authority figures or leaders? (And this has all been going throughout history.) Are we believing what we are told simply because someone “better than us” is saying it? Do we believe what the say because they have a lot of others on their bandwagon?

And how often has what is being said turned out not to be the truth? How often do actual actions belie what someone said? And yet, we continually believe the words over the actions. Words printed on cartons, advertising, slogans, news, books, and more. We easily get caught up in someone’s excitement and next thing we are signing up for something we didn’t want. 

Other people’s beliefs and their wanting to push their products are shoved in our faces day after day after day and if you’re listening to news or TV, it could be every fifteen minutes to half an hour we are hearing the same spiel. Remember, we learn by repetition. So what are these repeated messages telling us? Is it something you really want to hear? What about your kids hearing these messages? What is it teaching them?

Think about it. What do you really want to believe? What do you really want to buy (or buy into)? 

I love Facebook and all my Facebook friends, but how much of those messages are just repetitions of what someone else has said or posted? (I'm just using this as an example). Yes, sometimes others can say exactly what you are feeling or thinking and this helps us not feel so alone. There are good points that we do need to be reminded of often and when in a funk, sometimes platitudes and positive sayings/words can help us climb out of our holes. (I admit I need this.)

Sometimes repetition is a very good thing. There are things I need to tell myself over and over when I have crashed and burned mentally. But I am choosing what positive things to tell myself… and I choose positive. 

BUT…

I believe we, as good people and a good society, need to start paying attention to what we allow to be repeated. I am sick at all the negativity in the world and to have that thrown in my face day after day, hour after hour does not help me be a better person. It just brings me down and destroys my hope for the world. There needs to be a balance between all the crap going on and hearing about more positive things being done.

And I wonder about the end messaging of bombarding us with all the negativity. Is it about control? “Believe in me and my products and I will protect you” seems to be a common subtle message. But again, what are we buying into? What freedoms and how much privacy are we given up for this so-called protection?

Think about it. This is a HUGE topic which has been going on forever and is getting worse.

Question everything!