What I find interesting living in the US is that debate is often viewed as attack.
OK, that is not exclusive to America, but in comparison to the many countries I’ve lived in – it certainly seems to be more of a trigger switch in people than I’ve experienced before.
Don’t get me wrong, not everyone is like that and I’m thoroughly enjoying being in the US [though I do miss China, which might sound weird to some] but it hasn’t taken me long to identify a range of subjects where you feel the tension in the room go from 0-100mph in the blink of an eye.
Religion, politics, race, wealth/poverty, abortion, healthcare and gun control are basically conversation hand grenades and yet they’re the very subjects America needs to talk about so the country can move forward rather than stand still and rip itself apart.
Now I appreciate these would be touchy subjects in any culture, but in America, the mere mention of any of these subjects results in either aggression or total shut down and frankly, I find that very disturbing, especially for a country that talks about freedom of speech.
Of course in my experience, I’ve found the people not willing to talk about certain subjects are often the ones who have something invested in keeping things exactly as they are, which is probably why the NRA continues to push weapon ownership – as the above photo demonstrates – despite huge amounts of evidence that gun ownership is contributing to gun crimes. [Which, let’s be honest, is hardly a surprise]
Perhaps the thing that bothers me most is this belief that if you give any counter argument a moment of consideration, you are seen – or made to feel – a traitor to your cause.
Not smart.
Not fair.
Not informed.
You’re a bloody traitor.
The irony of this approach is it’s been proven that when people feel they’ve been listened to, the level of aggression they feel is vastly reduced, even if the outcome remains the same.
America is a wonderful country but it’s a land of extremes.
Forward thinking yet insanely conservative.
Religious yet war loving.
Deeply patriotic yet massively divided.
If Trump really wants to make this country great again, then a good place to start might be to encourage the spirt of debate again.
Contrary to what the President may think, debate doesn’t mean the wheels keep spinning and nothing gets done … it means that before a decision is made, people have talked and discussed the situation without aggressiveness, put-downs or abuse. He might find this hard to believe, but it may even lead to better decisions … but more than that, you can’t be a nation that celebrates ‘freedom of speech’ when – as the Dixie Chicks learned – anyone who expresses their opinion finds out it has just cost them a huge amount.
Filed under: Comment
Today is a hard day for a lot of people, but in terms of people I know, it will be especially difficult for both Dave and Andy. And to both of you, I send a big, big hug and hope today is one where good memories start shining through. On a positive, my dear Aunt Silvana – Mum’s Sister – turns 90 today, so a big, wonderful hug to her from all of us here. Rx
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Comment, Communication Strategy, Creativity, Culture, Death, Empathy, Experience, Family, Mum, Mum & Dad, Resonance
I know this week has been a week of super short, super bad posts – even by my standards – but today I end the week on a longer and more serious note.
A few weeks ago, the country singer Glen Campbell died.
Despite sharing the same surname, I have never shown any interest in this singer/songwriter because basically, I hate country music.
Sure, I knew a couple of his songs, but if you’d asked me who sang them, I would have not been able to tell you in a million years.
So why am I writing about his death?
Well, when he died, a friend of mine – who is a massive music guy – wrote on his Facebook about Glen Campbell’s life and there was one bit that really hit me which was how he dealt with being diagnosed with Alzheimers.
Rather than retire quietly, he stepped up his workload.
Not to capitalize on his illness or end his career on a high … but because music was something he loved and he wanted to enjoy it before he forgot it.
And he was forgetting it.
He needed a teleprompter on stage to help him remember the lyrics to his songs.
He needed to be reminded that some members of his band were his very own children.
But that’s not the thing that hit me, it was the fact that he wrote a song about his illness called, ‘I’m Not Gonna Miss You’.
To be honest, just hearing he had done that reminded me of the poem Clive James wrote about his impending death. A post that was extra significant at the time because I was about to fly to England to be with my Mum for her impending heart operation – an operation that sadly didn’t work.
As many of you know, I’ve written a lot about death.
Not because I particularly like the subject, but because I believe not talking about it can do us far more harm.
It’s never a comfortable topic to discuss, but I know my denial of my Fathers situation led to me experiencing 10 years of pain.
And while my Mum died unexpectedly, she had made sure that it was something we talked about in general terms and then – as an act of love that is almost impossible to comprehend – she quietly made arrangements to ensure that if she did not get through the operation, the legal ramifications of her passing would not add extra burden to my broken heart.
I must admit, I initially found it hard to think that she had done this for me.
Of course I recognised it as an act of love but as she had once told me that she was scared of dying alone, I imagined her fears would have become even stronger while she was preparing all these things for me.
I’ve got to be honest, it’s only writing this that has made me realise that regardless the nervousness Mum was feeling, she would also have had a sense of contentment that she was able to do this for me.
That’s a level of love that has literally made me tear up while I am writing this which reinforces why I am so, so glad that she knew I was with her when the worse moment happened.
I write all this because I hope Glen Campbell’s family will one day feel the same sense of love when they read the lyrics to his sons, ‘I’m not gonna miss you’.
I can’t imagine how it must have felt hearing this song for the first time – especially as his Alzheimers had only just been diagnosed – but in time, I truly hope they can see past the pain and feel the love of someone who, at their darkest hour, wanted them to know how much he loved them.
I’m still here, but yet I’m gone
I don’t play guitar or sing my songs
They never defined who I am
The man that loves you ’til the end
You’re the last person I will love
You’re the last face I will recall
And best of all, I’m not gonna miss you
Not gonna miss you
I’m never gonna hold you like I did
Or say I love you to the kids
You’re never gonna see it in my eyes
It’s not gonna hurt me when you cry
I’m never gonna know what you go through
All the things I say or do
All the hurt and all the pain
One thing selfishly remains
I’m not gonna miss you
I’m not gonna miss you
It those lyrics haven’t affected you, then you’re not human.
Which leads to a point I’d like to make about advertising.
No, really …
As you will have worked out by now, I am an emotional bloke.
Of course that doesn’t mean I don’t value intelligence or information or data, it’s just that if our learnings aren’t conveyed in a way that captures how our audience actually feels, it becomes ‘cold’ to me.
Part of this is because I believe our job is to connect to culture, part of this is because I believe creativity should push and provoke … but mostly, it’s because I believe the best work connects to audiences on a much deeper level than the superficial.
Put simply, it feels like it’s come from inside the culture rather than from someone observing it.
And that’s why Glen Campbell’s song is so powerful to me … because even though I hate country music, when I read his lyrics, I was reminded that great work talks in a way you powerfully feel rather than passively rationalize.
Thank you for the lesson Glen.
This is what I am dealing with …
Bravery doesn’t cover the half of it. Ahem.
Filed under: Advertising, Cars, Comment, Creativity, Marketing
On face value, the title of this post is quite a big call.
But, when you remember there’s so little good car ads about, it’s not that hard to ‘stand out’.
And while the visual element of this Porsche ad is pretty boring, there’s something about that line of copy I really like.
In just 12 words, it’s managed to capture the sense of awe a Porsche should make you feel.
And while you could argue these 12 words could be used for any car brand, when you know that Frederic Porsche once said …
“I want to build cars that are not something to everyone but everything to someone”
… you realize how good that copy is.