I want to play a little game and I’d like you to play along! We’re going to play a little word association game, sort of. It’s purely for fun and mostly cause I’m curious about something I’ve been thinking about for a while, but the only way I can get a good, honest opinion out of other people is to start out with this little experiment. So anyway, here’s how it’s going to work:
I’m going to post a real quote, but I’m not going to tell you who said it. Immediately after reading it, I want you to post a comment and tell me what you think of it. Tell me how the quote made you feel, what your thoughts are. Simple as that.
There are a couple rules, though!
1 – If you don’t know who said the quote, that’s great! Post your thoughts, but please don’t google to find out who said it until after you’ve posted your thoughts! Knowing who said it will cloud and color your perceptions and potentially alter your opinion of the statement, and that would spoil the fun.
2 – If you already know who said it, please don’t spoil the fun and give it away! I’ll reveal who said it myself later on: it’s all part of the plan!
3 – Please don’t post any comments outside the purposes of this game, not yet – if you really want to say something, you’ll have a chance later on, I promise. For now, just post responses specific to the game.
Is everything clear now? Good, then here’s the hypothetical situation that leads to the quote below, and what you should think about while reading it: the person who said this is a politician who is running for office. You have a vote to cast, and this person is asking you for your vote, they’re asking you to put them into an office where their decisions will directly affect your quality of life. This person wants your vote, this person says the following quote, and how does this make you feel about this person?
Here’s the quote: “I serve as a blank screen, on which people of vastly different political stripes project their own views.”
Now go and post those thoughts! And remember, no cheating!!
Edit – July 4, 2008: Lots of people have asked for further context, and one person has even accused me of misquoting. Well, I first saw this quote elsewhere in a news article. I did some research and found a couple other references for exactly the same quote, so I’ve done my best to make sure the quote itself is as accurate as possible. And it wasn’t taken from a speech, it was from something written by the politician directly. But that said, I’m not stopping there – I’m still trying to get my hands on a copy of where this was originally written in its first publication. Once I get my hands on that, I’m going to scan it – along with its full context – so that we’ll have more information to go off.
But please remember, I said this was just one part of an experiment and I’d have more information later, including a place for people to post commentary, thoughts, and opinions. So context will be provided later, this is just for initial reactions. For all you know, this experiment could be about how different a plucked comment is when viewed alone versus in context. Be patient, people, I’m working on it! 🙂
It almost seems to be attempting to suggest the speaker is above politics. What colour of blank?
Sounds to me like the speaker feels he/she is so unknown or insignificant that others attach their own views to him/her with little to no basis.
I tried to be even more fair by not reading the other peoples’ comments (that was hard!) so they wouldn’t sway me either.
It’s telling me that this person is a page unwritten… that he/she cannot form his/her own views, and that their views are going to be shaped by what other people want rather than what they believe in or have been able to decide on their own.
This person, then, wants to be transparent… to really let the people sway him/her. To be the people’s candidate rather than to be in the pockets of big corporations.
But the “vastly different political stripes” is interesting to me too… it’s telling me that they believe that they can be any political party’s candidate… that he’ll listen to anybody’s opinions and be swayed – pushed – projected… whatever… by somebody of ANY political views.
Based on this quote alone and not knowing anything else about the candidate I would think they’re trustworthy and worth consideration for a vote in their favor.
PS) Thanks for the e-mail! Cute card… I shall be e-mailing you back soon!
They sound like a wishy-washy type with no real convictions and no naural born leadership. Rather they sound like they pander and use obscure and abstract statements to keep their true beliefs and motives close to their vest thereby getting the benefit of the doubt from all sides and gaining political support for their cunning vagueness.
This sounds like a person who lives life in front of green screen. They are imaginary, vague and purposefully avoiding taking a stand that might alienate someone. This is not a leader, but a shadow puppet who will be, or appear to be, anything anyone wants them to be. Their real opinions, goals, desires are unknown and that is scary in terms of someone who can affect my life in any way. I would not vote for someone who does not have the courage of their own convictions. This is a ‘feel good’ sort of person who should be a talk show host, not a leader. If I were comparing them to food they would be jell-o. It pretends to be a food, can be called dessert, salad, etc. but in truth is nothing substantial and, in fact, rather bad for you.
Hmm. If I read it right–
I guess I want my politician to respect and take into consideration the views of America, but I also want the president of the United States to have his (or her) own views–I don’t want a chameleon president whose view changes with whatever’s projected on that screen at the time. Give me a president with strong values and opinions that he/she is actually willing to uphold and defend–and it’ll be the job of congress, etc, to make sure that those views are tempered by what the populace thinks and wants.
I don’t know who said that, but I might have a hunch.
My take is that this is spoken by someone who knows how to manipulate public opinion to his or her advantage.
A politician who describes him or herself as a ‘blank screen’ is not someone I would even consider voting for. Why? If someone is running for elective office and will represent me, then they better have opinions, values and strategies that I agree with. In the same vein, the politician better know and strongly agree with whatever issue or policies his /her constituants want / need. They better have a track record I can easily review.It also smells funny because it most strongly implies that they would vote any way at all on any issue and I’m afraid that might leave them open to all well-funded lobbying and media power.
That says to me, “I am a soulless cog in the political machine that is the modern, bloated, industrialized, pundant-riddled system that is American politics. I will be or appear to be whatever is necessary to win this election.”
That being said, the comment could be taken out of context and certainly could have been more of a ruminative statement considering how others view him despite the reality of a firm set of core values. Sort of like when John Lennon said the Beatles were bigger than Jesus. He didn’t mean it or think it, but he himself was a little appalled that other people seemed to.
like others before me, i decided not to read anyone else’s comments before i posted. but i do know who said it, and i also know that she misquoted him.
Well context is king isn’t it? Any person can be quoted out of context and made to say all sorts of things. We are making vast assumptions off of one sentence cherry-picked from the millions that this individual has made. That being said, I still stick to my previous analysis. And will now go further and say that the person that said this quote is clearly left-handed, probably wears argyle, and almost certainly prefers Honda Accords to Toyota Camrys.
Shawn – I’m sorry if you think I’ve misquoted this person, but it was taken directly from something the politician wrote; I didn’t transcribe it from a speech. I’ve done my best to double check the quote from a variety of sources and am attempting to get my hands on a first publication of the quote itself. So far everything I’ve seen supports the way the quote was presented. If later research shows that I was incorrect, I will do everything possible to correct the quote.
Steve – Yes, context is king. Perhaps that’s what this experiment is about – we just don’t know yet. Remember, this is just the first stage in an experiment, and at this stage, I just want initial reactions to that statement alone, free of context. You don’t know where I’m going with it next, do you? So let’s not assume, cause we all know what assuming does. 😉
“cause we all know what assuming does. ;)”
It allows for analytic,a posteriori knowledge by extrapolating from facts?
“You don’t know where I’m going with it next, do you?”
No, but I can assume 🙂