A quick spin through the world of media, infomercials, celebrity endorsements, Wall Street double-talk, scientific ‘discoveries,’ packaging, and even education has the majority of us scratching our cerebral universes striving to decipher fact from fiction.
From the most recent miracle cleanse to weight loss statements for a mis-utilized drug, lab-coated ‘doctors’ sharing the latest ‘anti-aging’ secret to the benefits of goat yoga, we may wonder why we even listen, or how that Thigh Master, Total Gym, and Ginsu Knives ended up at our garage sale.
Under the auspices of helping us consumers, entrepreneurs, and brand builders, the FTC is jumping in with boots on to “protect” us from claims and misleading marketing, recently issuing over 700 letters to manufacturers to substantiate their messaging or face civil penalties. Agreed, ethical guidelines are needed in any and all marketing to give accurate representation of the consumer experience, safety and efficacy. But do we need government to do this?
Can there be a personal barometer to qualify fact from fiction, truth from glitz, paid endorsement from actual statistics?
Before we share the secret solution, it is important to note that humans have been searching for truth since the dawn of time. From philosophers to historians, scientists to educators, religious leaders and beyond, defining truth was the core bellwether and basis of their ideas and ideals.
Albert Einstein shared “As for the search for truth, I know from my own painful searching, with its many blind alleys, how hard it is to take a reliable step, be it ever so small, toward the understanding of that which is truly significant.”
The noted quotes are endless but often without defined guidance. Gandhi said, “Be truthful, gentle, and fearless.” Twain astutely shared, “Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities. Truth isn’t.”
It is then indeed a fact, we need truth, we need our own truth in order to survive. Our own truth is the personal North Star to which all of our actions, our choices, our responsibilities can align.
So before we sacrifice our ability to discern our own truth, the accuracy of claims, separating fact from fiction to a government entity, let’s consider this possible datum.
Truth is personal. It will evolve through your own observation, experiences, education, and yes, humor. It requires curiosity and the bravery to question fixed ideas and enforced realities. Its ethereal nature necessitates the protection of core values and ethical conduct. Its value is immeasurable and vital to one’s survival, on all dynamics.
For those of us who are offering new ideas, new better-for-you products, new opportunities, new messaging, by upholding your own truth and values, all can win. And for those who don’t, please come pick up my rusty Ginsu knives and bent Thigh-Master.
Gillian