Don’t judge a book by its cover is what we’re always told.
Yet that’s what we always wind up doing, blowing hot or cold.
Whether candidates seeking office or movie stars chasing glory,
we always assume the best or worst about them, not their real story.
We look at their hair, assess their jawline and nose.
We size up their accent and eye the brand of their clothes.
Then, confusing their outer with their inner being,
we pigeonhole them based on the skin tone we’re seeing.
We’re drawn to movie puppets squeezed into tailored suits
or image-obsessed dictators mouthing platitudes.
We crave the packaged look and the political gobbledygook.
Plain speaking is as popular as a skunk or smelly octopus.
Honesty, modesty and rationality are all fine qualities.
But they’re foreign to those who convince us their policies
will lead to the land of milk, honey and TV reality.
We, meanwhile, continue to skate on a sea of superficiality.