Spinning The Truth

If you were around in the 70’s, you’ll never forgot the movie Jaws, adapted from Peter Benchley’s book. Let’s just say it wasn’t beach reading.

The premise was simple. A eastern seaboard resort town. Families on vacation. Sun. Laughter. Swimming. And a killer shark.

Much of the movie centered on the coverup by the city officials who didn’t want a little thing like killer sharks ruining their summer tourism season.

Who can forget Amity Mayor Vaughn, at a press conference, who said this, “I‘m pleased and happy to repeat the news that we have, in fact, caught and killed a large predator that supposedly injured some bathers. But, as you see, it’s a beautiful day, the beaches are open and people are having a wonderful time. Amity, as you know, means ‘friendship.'”

There is a tendency to cover up the bad. We see it all the time. If you follow Wall Street, you know that companies who give their annual reports find the one bit of good news and leap on it. If revenue is down, they’ll still point out that Widget A increased sales among 50-54 males in Maryland. And that’s supposed to help us feel better.

Politicians spin a similiar line of thinking. Sure, unemployment is hovering near 10 percent, but consumer confidence is up. Manufacturing volume is down, but jobs are being created in the green industry.

The techniques of media spin include:

Selectively presenting facts and quotes that support one’s position. Cherry picking.

Non-denial denial
Phrasing in a way that assumes unproven truth
Euphemisms used to disguise the agenda
“Burying bad news”: announcing one popular thing at the same time as several unpopular things, hoping that the focus will be on the popular one.

I see me using all of these techniques in my own life, as I grapple with truth.

How many times have I been asked, “How are things?” My response? “Great.” “Fine.” “Blessed.” I then I spin a tale of joy and happiness to keep everyone satisfied. It’s beautiful. The beaches are open. I’m having a wonderful time.

“Instead, let your message be ‘Yes’ for ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ for ‘No.’ Anything more than that comes from the evil one.” Matt: 5:37

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