IDENTIFICATION J. RICHARD CHASE There is nothing more incongruous than an older adult acting and dressing like a teenager in an attempt to reach them. But isn’t identi fication important? Shouldn’t we dress, act and speak the language of those we try to reach or influence? And didn’t Paul even make adjust ments in his pattern of life to reach others (I Corinthians 9:19-22)? According to popular thought, yes. For years, those who would influ ence others have sought to identify with the group they would reach. In our enlightened day, few politicians would make such an obvious blunder as did Calvin Coolidge when he posed in workshirt and cover alls in a field with a pitch fork. Few observant farmers would consider Coolidge one of their own, for in the midst of the hay, beneath the pant- legs of his coveralls, shone two beautifully polished dress shoes. The pose was meant to attract the farm vote, but the shining shoes, over looked in dressing for the quick attempt at identification, all but ruined the image. There is and always has been a vast difference between true identification and merely role playing. Today’s politician plays his role better. Few don Indian headdress, kiss babies, or put on work clothes to capture votes. Now they have sophisticated polling procedures to find out what we believe, what the mood of the country is, what dominates our thoughts. Then, on the basis of these carefully conducted and minutely analyzed polls, the politician knows what he should say on national television or at the local level to win the largest possible share of the vote. Crass? Perhaps, but then the stakes are high. And there always exists the faint hope on the part of the voter that perhaps this man, despite his polls, organization, and Page 4
Made with FlippingBook Online document