Everyday Canvas

Mixed Messages

According to Urban Dictionary a mixed message is: “A situation in which a person is receiving verbal or nonverbal cues that seem to contradict each other, from another person. Typical reactions to this behavior are confusion, anger, and a willingness to cease communication with the person.”

If so, what do you do if the mixed message comes from the company you work, an organization you belong, or your very own government?

I thought about this while I was voting a few days ago. We vote for our presidents and it is said: “This president is chosen by the American public.” Really? If so, why do we have the electorates for? Shouldn’t the popular vote determine who becomes the president? Then if our government is “for the people and by the people,” why do we allow Pacs, Super Pacs, and lobbyists to sway elected officials’ minds, and by proxy, the public?

Let’s put politics aside and concentrate on one of our national symbols, The Statue of Liberty. Inside the pedestal of the statue is a plaque that says: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” Really? If so why are we mistreating people who have been brought here as babies, be it illegally but without any choice of their own, even though they have been raised as Americans?

I am not even touching our international policies, since there may be things concerning them I don’t know enough about, but I suspect we hand out some mixed messages to the world opinion in this area as well.

In the same vein, before talking from the both sides of our mouths or making offhand proclamations, shouldn’t we face the truths about ourselves first?

On the personal level, can any one of us claim that we have never given a mixed message to another person, such as a parent, a lover, an offspring, or a co-worker? I think sometimes we use mixed messages on purpose, to save face or to save the day, however you look at it.

In my opinion, mixed messages confuse and lead to bigger problems. So why not tell the truth all the time? By that, I don’t mean we should volunteer every truth through acerbic words and speech that could hurt others, but there is always a way to tell the truth kindly, and better yet, face it squarely for our own good.