We live in a world where access to information is almost instantaneous. We can find events reported on the Internet and over the airwaves almost as soon as something occurs. And with 24-hour news networks, you can often witness it as it is occurring.
In today’s information age, perception is almost as important as fact. In some cases, it can be even more so.
Now more than ever it’s not just what you do or say, but how you spin it that contributes to how your actions and statements are perceived.
We don’t have to be talking about presidential politics, the global economy or military conflicts (although we certainly could). We can look to our very own upstate New York county for examples of how important perception can be.
Let’s take the Oxford School District as our first example. Maybe the board and administration aren’t trying to sneak a fast one with their proposed capital project options. But the fact that they haven’t listened to the community, which obviously has strong sentiments regarding the Middle School building, has those same community members questioning their motives.
Much of the controversy probably could have been avoided if they had truly made it a public process, getting and listening to community feedback at the onset of the process rather than at this stage. Kudos to the community for calling them on it.
We can also talk about the arrest of the New Berlin Police Chief. They have kept such a tight lid on the situation, that the only “information” circulating is rumor and innuendo.
Which reminds me of the Norwich City School District and their lockdown of information on the Thomas Knapp Affair. (This is not a suggestion that there was extramarital impropriety, just a reference to one of the best movies of all time.)
The district’s ability to keep their collective lips sealed was truly admirable in the fact that nothing said ever disparaged Mr. Knapp during the months he remained principal but was absent from the school. We still don’t know what happened. The CIA could probably learn a thing or two.
